Tsukune Specter
by Streggae
Summary: Danny Fenton and Tsukune Aono are cousins who despite the distance have maintained contact with each other and are as close as brothers. On one faithful day during the Aono's visit to Amity Park Danny is pressured into entering his parents experimental portal and Tsukune is dragged along with him. What happens afterwards? The birth of a Phantom and Specter.
1. Curiosity Made The Ghost

**Author's Notes: In this AU Tsukune and Danny are cousins by their fathers side. Tsukune's father Koji is Jack's younger half brother. Long story short they have the same mother who divorced Jack's father and fell in love with Koji's father in Japan. Jack being Jack loves his younger brother and Koji just goes along with it so the Aono's and Fentons are estranged but are on good terms with each other.**

 **Reason why I'm explaining this is because I'm too lazy to do it n the story and to avoid confusion.**

 **I've seen the limited amount of Rosario + Vampire and Danny Phantom stories and thought to write my own mostly because f the lack of originality I've seen with the others. So this is more like a prologue of the main story so I don't expect you to be** _ **hooked**_ **but if you want more give me a review, follow and favorite.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Curiosity Made The Ghost**

The plane made a smooth landing on the runway something that the boy was all too happy for. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with the plane ride, no like the landing the ride itself was smooth. The change in time zones however were the only negative effects of the whole flight yet even that didn't get his spirits down much for he had finally arrived.

A smile made its way upon a 14 year old Tsukune Aono's face as he and his family disembarked the plane. The family of four entered the airport, there was the Tsukune, his parents and his cousin who asked, nay begged to join them. It didn't take much t convince his or her parents to let her join them since they're visiting family.

"HEY KOJI OVER HERE!"

He heard his father sigh; speaking of family he looked over to see the reason why they've come to visit. There was a giant of a man standing around seven foot wearing an orange jumpsuit, beside him was a woman wearing a blue jumpsuit. The man had a sign with the name 'Aono' written on it. Beside the woman was a younger girl who spared a glance of annoyance to the man but nonetheless smiled as they approached.

Then there was the last one a boy with black hair similar to the large man but with piercing blue eyes. He wore blue jeans and a white shirt with a red oval at the center of his chest. Upon seeing him the boy grinned and waved a little Tsukune returned the gesture and the Aono family approached their American relatives the Fentons.

"Jack" his father spoke "nice to see yo-" he was abruptly cut off when his brother gave him a bone crushing hug.

"Great to have you with us little brother, now come on, so I can tell you all about the new ghost hunting equipment I've been working on" with that he dragged Sahashi Aono away.

Kyouko Aono stood by Jasmine 'Jazz' Fenton with her hand on her hip "they still obsess with ghosts?" she asked in broken English.

Jazz folded her arms with a frown "unfortunately" she turned to her cousin "it's nice to see you again Kyouko" she bowed slightly.

The gesture put the Japanese girl off a little, it has been a little over three years since they last saw each other. She didn't expect the fun loving girl she knew to be so…professional.

"O-okay, nice seeing you too Jazz-san" she stuttered lightly.

Tsukune and Danny followed behind already engrossed in their own conversation, unlike everyone else they kept in contact with each other whenever they could, mostly through online games but would occasionally send pictures. Despite the obvious cultural barriers they were as close as brothers, it helps that they have similar problems.

That is, eccentric parents, nagging sister figures, bullies and are generally outcasts at school. The difference between them is that for Tsukune his parents were the normal kind of eccentric, his mother could be a bit ditzy and his father would sometimes be neglectful but that was mostly due to his demanding job. That's the reason why he gets one week of vacation as compensation for his hard work.

Another difference was that Danny had friends, best friends who he knew for a long time and while Tsukune did have friends they were more along the lines of acquaintances, they talked to each other at school but don't really do anything outside of it.

The family entered the RV and the ride was anything but silent, between Jack talking to his estranged brother, Kasumi's enquiry into the different sites, Jazz did small talk with Kyouko about the flight and Danny and Tsukune's conversation about a new game he brought, the vehicle was lively indeed.

It took them an hour's drive through traffic to arrive in Amity Park, Koji looked out the window to see a two story building with a command center and large neon sign which said Fenton Works. He shook his head lightly, for as long as he knew his brother he was always odd, admittedly he had moments of brilliance but odd, he liked to do things big and this…this is so Jack.

"Sam and Tucker are gonna come over tomorrow" Danny spoke helping Tsukune with his luggage up the stairs. They were going to sleep in Danny's room for the week, not that either minded.

Once inside his room Tsukune noted all the NASA posters, he had well been aware that his cousin wanted to be an astronaut, heck his profile name on Doomed online was Astroboy156. It made him chuckle a bit, Danny's obsession was borderline otaku. At this he spotted figurines and that broke the dam.

"What's so funny?" Danny eyed him quizzically.

"N-nothing" he replied "(just that you remind me of an otaku)" he muttered in Japanese.

"Hey I heard that!" Danny narrowed his eyes"and I am _not_ an otaku, just because I want to become an astronaut doesn't mean I'm obsessed" he thumbed himself with a smug smile with his eyes closed.

Danny opened his eyes to see Tsukune with a Neil Armstrong action figure in his hand, he looked to Danny with a raised eyebrow.

"Well that's I, uh" he trailed off then swiped the figure from him "oh what do you know?" he placed the figure back on the counter.

Tsukune chuckled in his hand, normally he wasn't one to impose but he can safely say that maintaining through the many contact with Danny some of his 'American attitude' was rubbing off on him. Danny is an incredibly snarky individual when you get to know him. In fact most of Tsukune's recent courage came from witty banter he shared with the boy online over the years.

Danny turned around with a serious expression "did you bring it?" he asked.

Tsukune adopted a serious expression as well and grabbed a particular suitcase, they both stood over it. Tsukune unzipped the bag and a golden light seemed to shine from the suitcase

"I don't believe it" Danny whispered "you actually got it"

"Yes" Tsukune nodded "is very expensive" he added.

"It'll be worth it" Danny said resolutely.

One of the new things which Tsukune got into because of Danny is, of course videogames and while he's not like one of those uber nerds who spent every second of every day playing he can appreciate some as a casual player. It just so happens that their favorite game series was produced and released in Japan two months before they shipped it to America. Tsukune was able to buy one while they were in stock.

"I can't wait until Tuck gets here tomorrow then it'll be an awesome three way death battle" Danny grinned.

Tsukune couldn't help but smile as well, yes when his friends come home they will do battle and nothing would get in the way.

*SLAM*

Both teens jumped Tsukune closed the box and the light was gone, "Tsuki-chan Danny-san" his cousin's voice boomed.

Both teens turned to her "(Kyouko-chan, what's wrong?)" he asked.

The girl made way for Jazz to be seen "Jazz?" Danny voiced.

"Hello Danny, Tsukune. Kyouko and I were going for a tour of Amity Park and was wondering if Tsukune would like to join us" she said politely.

"Thank you Jazz-san" Tsukune began "but we were-"

"Of course Tsuki-chan's coming" Kyouko interrupted making her way towards him.

"(Kyouko-chan Danny and I-)" he began

"(Oh, you're right Danny can come with us)" she interrupted again.

Danny didn't get all of that conversation, his Japanese is about as good as Tsukune's English. He can keep up with a conversation for the most part but not when they talk too fast. So it was a surprise to him when his older cousin suddenly grabbed both their arms and dragged them out of the door.

Jazz blinked "Kyouko wait" she began running "you don't know your way around yet!"

Tsukune offered Danny and apologetic look that seemed to scream 'what can you do?' Danny couldn't really fault him for simply going along with it, from the way how she acts, Kyouko is a lot like his father, stubborn to a fault. With types like them its best to endure till it's over.

After three hours they arrived back at Fenton Works in Jazz's car, at this point jet lag was catching up to him. He wasn't drowsy per se but sleep was definitely starting to sound appealing. The teens walked into the house to the smell of something familiar or at least familiar to Tsukune and Kyouko but to Danny and Jazz

*Sniff* sniff* "what is that?" Jazz questioned and they followed into the kitchen.

The Fenton siblings' jaw dropped at the sight, their mother Madeline Fenton was in the kitchen, making dinner…and the area didn't spontaneously combust yet.

"Mom" Danny spoke, the shock event in his voice.

Maddie looked up from her work "oh, hi sweety, how was the tour, did you make sure to show Tsukune and Kyouko the sights?"

Danny shook his head "yeah um"

"You're cooking" Jazz spoke getting to the point.

"Actually, I'm helping Kasumi" as she spoke Tsukune's mother made her presence known, she was preparing the meat.

"Oh" Jazz seemed to sigh "hello Mrs. Aono" Jazz greeted.

"Hello Jazz-san" she greeted

Danny sighed in relief which did not go unnoticed by his cousin "is something wrong?"

Both boys turned their backs to everyone "let's just say mom is the reason why we keep fire extinguishers in the kitchen" he whispered pointing to the fire extinguisher, he squinted his eyes and could make out the words

"Break….in…case..mom…cooks?" he gave Danny an incredulous look.

"You weren't there _before_ we got them and let mom near the stove" he grimaced at the memory and Tsukune had no choice but take his cousin's word for it.

After dinner and a shower Danny helped Tsukune set up a futon the post flight jetlag had finally caught up with him.

* * *

Tsukune woke up earlier than Danny and was pleasantly surprised to see that he did _not_ give into temptation and play the game without him. Not that he particularly cared it was just the principle of it. Gathering his toothbrush he opened the door and headed straight for the bathroom when something caught his eye.

He remembered his uncle talking about some kind of basement lab; he stared at the door for a moment before entering the bathroom. They were guests in the house and while he was curious he wouldn't betray his uncle's trust.

It was later that Sam and Tucker came over and after introductions they locked themselves in Danny's room, barricading it for good measure in case Kyouko tried to drag them off like yesterday and to make sure they weren't caught off guard stockpiled junk food.

It worked for the most part and the game was so addictive that they didn't even notice the hours passed. Tucker, Danny and Tsukune played while Sam watched, she wasn't into games as much as the boys but kept busy. The boys witty banter was entertaining, especially when Tucker tried and failed to understand Tsukune when he spoke Japanese.

It wasn't until they finally completed the single player campaign that Sam came in "you guys finally done?"

"Yeah what time is it?" they looked at clock and was wide eyed "we've been playing for five hours straight!?" Tucker exclaimed "sweet" he added

Now that Tsukune thought about it, that would explain why he had the urge to pee, like right now. The boy scrambled out the door past Sam.

They heard the sound of the bathroom door closing "something tells me he's going to be in there for a while" Sam commented.

Danny got up and stretched "so what do you guys want to do now?"

Sam suddenly smiled "hey Danny, didn't you say your parents were working on something big in the basement?"

…..

Tsukune exited the bathroom with a lazy smile headed for Danny's room when voices caught his attention. What was really surprising was that it was coming from the basement lab, after a while he recognized them. Now he was a little apprehensive, one of the few absolute rules that his aunt uncle and parents gave him was that he wasn't supposed to into the lab without supervision, actually his parents outright forbade him from entering the place.

Eventually curiosity won out and he entered the lab before cautiously walking down the stairs. Tsukune was immediately in awe, there were pieces of technology lying on tables but that paled in comparison to what he saw at the end of the room. It looked like some kind of portal, or at least it was supposed to be anyway Danny mentioned it yesterday but seeing it up close he was awestruck.

*Click*

There was a short flash that brought him back to earth and he saw Sam with a camera while Danny held onto what looked like a white and black jumpsuit.

"Okay I showed you the portal. Now can we get out of here now? My parents could be back any minute" he asked worriedly then spotted Tsukune.

"What going on?" he asked walking up to Tucker.

"Sam wanted to see the ghost portal Danny told us about" Tucker answered.

"Yeah and we've seen it so let's go" Danny said again.

"Danny right" Tsukune spoke "we not allowed in here."

She scoffed but Danny pressed "besides they said it doesn't work anyways"

Sam went in front of the portal and so did Tsukune out of curiosity and noted that the inside looked like it could swallow him whole.

"Come on Danny, a ghost zone, aren't you curious? You gotta check it out at least" she urged.

"What!? No way I'm not going in there" he stepped back.

"Don't be such a chicken" Tucker teased.

"I don't see you volunteering Tuck" he glared.

"Dude, your parent's portal and I don't think you have any Jumpsuits my size" he surmised pointing at the racks of Jumpsuits his parent had with the Fenton's and the Aono's names on it.

Danny looked at the portal "I don't know"

A curious Tsukune went over and took the jumpsuit under his name and gaped _'(how did they get my size right?)'_ he thought.

Sam too eyed the portal then Tsukune then Danny and a smile formed on her face which for some reason it reminded Tsukune of when his cousin got an idea that she wouldn't take no for an answer for.

"Okay what if Tsukune goes in with you?" she told Danny.

"What?" was Danny's response.

"Huh?" Tsukune looked at Sam.

"I can tell just you're at least curious about it Tsukune" she affirmed

"No, no, no, Sam, that's a terrible idea" Danny said "what if something happens?"

Sam's reply was to throw a second jumpsuit in Danny's face "then go with him and make sure _nothing_ happens."

Danny gave her a withering glare to which she scoffed "two heads are better than one Danny besides aren't you curious about what's inside?" They all looked inside the inactive portal and Danny could feel his resolve wavering he looked at Tsukune.

He himself was unsure but it couldn't hurt, right? Feeling brave for once Tsukune shrugged and went behind a makeshift change room to put on his jumpsuit.

Looking down at the suit he spoke "you're right Sam" he smiled and looked at her "who knows what kind of awesome, super cool things could be in there."

They turned just in time to see Tsukune come into view. The Americans paused to gawk at him

"What" he asked, completely oblivious to the thing stamped on his chest.

*Smack* Danny's palm met his forehead, hard while Sam and Tucker bent down in fits of laughter.

"Dude, _that_ is hilarious!" Tucker got out between laughs.

Confused, Tsukune looked down and flushed in embarrassment. Reaching for it he felt relief when he pulled the logo off his chest. Danny turned his jumpsuit inside out and low and behold he came face to cloth with Jack Fenton's face on the chest area.

Sighing in embarrassment he ripped the logo off and before changing into the suit.

"Wait" Sam said walking towards one of the other suits and tear off the black sleeves then using a pair of scissors, she cut them then walked up to both boys and stamped it on their chest.

On Danny's chest was a stylized ' _DP_ ' symbol while Tsukune had a similar style except it had stylized ' _TS_ '

"Trust me that looks a lot better than having that on your chest" she pointed at Jack's face in his hand, Danny tossed it in the garbage.

Once done he looked to Tsukune who gave him a weak smile and they both nodded before entering.

"Whoa" Danny seemed to sum up their impression of inside.

The portal had more distance than it looked on the outside, the intricate circuitries which glowed blue gave it a phantasmal visage. Tsukune was cautious as he and Danny walked along the darkened walls

"You see anything in there Danny, T-man?" Tucker's voice echoed.

"No" Tsukune he replied.

"What he said, it's pretty dark in *click* here?" Danny turned to see what his hand pressed but saw green light pulsing through the circuitry of the portal.

The strange green energy spread throughout the room, lighting up the place. It was in that instant Danny saw an 'On' button.

"W-what happening?" Tsukune looked around nervously, something Danny could relate to.

Both boys began to edge away when a bright green light shone at the end of the portal temporarily blinding them

' _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea'_ were the boys' final thoughts before a wave of ectoplasmic energy drowned them and the only thing that could be heard were blood curdling screams of two boys trapped inside the portal.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So here's the first chapter, I'm surprised no one has never thought of this before but I dare to be different to dream of something other than 'Danny being sent to Youkai by some means or the other.' But come on tell me no one was ever curious if it were the** _ **other**_ **way around and I know Ghost Fang did but at least Tsukune some credit and have him take a lesson in badass, seriously not enough love for the Aono man.**

 **Anyway tell me what you guys think of the first impression in the review section, it's been a long time since I watched Danny Phantom and I mostly wrote this because of several Rosario + Vampire stories and other Danny Phantom crossover I read recently.**


	2. Keeping It Together

**Author's Notes: I will be taking a much realistic approach on Danny (and Tsukune) gaining ghost powers. This will be told through the eyes of Tsukune.**

 **Chapter 2: Keeping It Together**

Tsukune hadn't had much pain in his relatively short life, the most pain he ever experienced was tripping over his untied shoelace and hitting the ground face first. When the green light hit him he recalled that time he tripped and fell and wished it happened to him 100 more times. His entire life lashed before his eyes before the light hit him.

He screamed hard and so loud that his voice became hoarse but even when he lost his voice the pain was too intense. Then just as he thought he would die the pain stopped or more like his body became too numb for his pain receptors to even acknowledge anymore. Not that it helped him now, he was thoroughly exhausted from the ordeal and was barely even aware that Danny was in there with him.

If there was any solace to his predicament then it would be that the blast pushed him to the entrance of the portal. Tsukune's cognitive power was proven to be stronger than he thought as he, in a feat of great will, managed to gently grab Danny's hand before he fell back.

Sam and Tucker waited with bated breath, the latter was only a few seconds away from calling the police or Danny's parents when they fell through.

"Tsukune! Danny!" they yelled, one of them landed on his back and the other was dragged with the momentum.

They saw the changes but didn't even care, right now there friends were possibly almost killed. Tucker went to pull the rest of Tsukune's body from the now swirling green portal but half way through he disappeared

"What the!?" Tucker yelped and almost dropped him when he flashed back before his eyes, this happened in two second intervals.

Sam was helping up a groaning Danny when he literally slipped through her arms and fell to the ground. At this he turned to Tucker when he exclaimed to see him holding..nothing. Then just as there was no one Tsukune appeared.

"We gotta get them out of here before someone sees"

Tsukune didn't feel so good, he had a killer migraine, his stomach cramped and he felt like his skin was on fire. Long story short, he hurt in places he didn't even realize he could be hurt or even existed. Through the myriad of pain he could hear voices and he could faintly make out a flash of light, after that he slipped into unconsciousness.

…

Tsukune's eyes slowly fluttered open "ugh"

"He's waking up!" he heard someone exclaim.

' _(Who..)'_ before he knew it Tsukune found himself staring into relieved violet and emerald eyes.

Tsukune blinked, it took him a while to remember just where he was, it took him even longer to try and speak only to realize he couldn't. His mouth was so dry that his attempts at communication resulted in small coughs. Just then he heard another sound and both teens looked to the side.

"I'll get some water" Tucker said before heading outside.

Tsukune tried to sit up but Sam halted his progress "whoa stay down Tsukune, look Tucker will be back with some water so take it easy okay" she asked lowering his chest.

Tsukune didn't get that entire sentence but could understand the gesture, he nodded weakly then lay back down. He watched as Sam headed to who he figured was his cousin and come to think of it what happened anyway? His eyes closed as he recalled the last thing he remembered before waking up.

He remembered going down the basement…..wait…. THE PORTAL. His eyes opened, what happened after the light hit them? His mind drew a blank, he couldn't remember anything and he couldn't really _do_ anything either, was dehydration this bad?

Two minutes (which felt like hours) later and Tucker came back with two cups of water to which Tsukune's eyes immediately brightened, finally! He was allowed to sit up and drink the water, tempted to just guzzle the entire thing down.

"Sam, ugh, what happened?" Tsukune's eyes were drawn to the almost slurred sound of his cousin and he immediately started choking on his water.

Danny turned around to the noise and his jaw dropped in shock "who are you)" they both shouted in their native language.

"Tsukune chill okay" Tucker placed a hand on his shoulder "its Danny."

"Tsukune!" Danny was shocked, he didn't look a thing like his cousin.

"Danny calm down you were in an accident with your parents' portal" Sam tried to calm him down "it changed you both"

"WHAT!?"

"Shh, keep your voice down dude, you're paren-" Tucker's warnings went on deaf ears as Danny quickly bolted out the door, no doubt to look in the bathroom mirror Tucker ran out afterwards.

' _(What does she mean by change?)'_ He wondered before looking at his hands.

White gloves came in his vision, his eyes widened as he traced stared at the appendage which seem to give off a faint white glow. He looked down at his clothes then pulled at his shirt to see a white symbol he didn't recognize.

"Tsukune" his head whipped to the room's only other occupant, Sam.

"What…is…this?"

Before she could answer a short yell sounded, startling Tsukune causing a tingling sensation to run through his body. Before Tsukune knew it he was suddenly falling, he would have screamed but his back hit something before he got the chance.

"Oof, ugh" groaning in pain the teen rolled on his side while trying to assuage the pain with his free hand.

To his surprise the pain didn't last as long as he thought it would. Rolling on his stomach and propping himself on his hands he could make out Sam shout his name from above him.

' _(Above!?)'_

He looked up at the ceiling which was a different color. Instead of blue it was a light green. His eyes glanced about, to his shock he was in the kitchen. Looking down at his hands Tsukune screamed when they suddenly disappeared. He stumbled back, tripped over his feet and fell _through_ the table.

Tsukune crawled back, he was now beyond frightened and close to hyperventilating.

"Tsukune!" Sam cried out running into the kitchen.

The boy stood up "(what happened to me!?)" he yelled.

"Calm down, okay" she said placidly "I can't understand you."

Taking deep breaths "w-what..happened" his voice was shaky.

"I'll tell you but you have to promise not to freak out okay" it was then Tsukune realized she had a mirror in hand.

"You and Danny went in the portal" she held out the mirror "and I don't know but it got turned on" he took the mirror "and now you guys look like-" She was interrupted when Tsukune gasped "that" she concluded with a wince.

Tsukune looked at his reflection wide eyed, gone was his average brown hair and chocolate colored eyes. Staring back at him were neon green eyes laying under a head of brushed down snow white hair. He touched his face, even his lightly tanned skin was pale, was any of this real? He stared intently at his reflection before closing his eyes and opened them to see them glowing fiercely.

"Gah!" he yelped and dropped the mirror.

Sam watched as the boy began to have a nervous breakdown before her eyes, her eyes widened once he began floating completely unaware whilst speaking erratically in Japanese.

"Tsukune"

"(What do I do? I can't let my parents see me like this!?)"

"Tsukune!" she shouted

"Huh?" He looked down, _down!?_

He started screaming the moment he caught himself in the air, flailing around trying to find something to hang onto with no luck until he hit the ceiling where he clung.

"(Help!)" He yelled.

Sam started fumbling around "uh, uh okay I uh, I'll get you down alright just don't" he started going through the ceiling "move. Dammit!" Sam ran up the stairs, again.

Tucker finally managed to get Danny out of the bathroom and into his bedroom where he was currently freaking out.

"This can't be happening, this can't happening.." he chanted over and over again unwittingly turning invisible.

"Dude seriously, you need to relax" Tucker began

"Relax? Relax!?" he shouted eyes flashing green "how can I relax when I'm I'm.." he trailed off when Tsukune floated through the floor behind Tucker "a ghost!" he yelled stumbling back.

"Huh?" Tucker turned around "ghost!" he yelled before joining Danny with backs against the wall.

Tsukune floated before dropping to the floor groaning. Before either boy could move Sam slammed open the door.

"Sam there's a.." Danny tried to warn but was silenced by a glare.

"I'm only going to say this once" she began in a dark tone "WOULD EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP AND CALM DOWN BEFORE WE ALL GO CRAZY!?"

And the room was silent, so silent that only Sam's heavy breathing could be heard "ahem" she coughed closing the door "so could you two have a seat so we can figure this out."

The response was quick Danny and Tucker sat on the bed and chair respectively while Tsukune went to sit on the floor in a seiza position.

Sam blinked then smirked, this was going better than she thought.

…..

"Okay, okay, okay" Danny spoke after the explanation "you're saying that when we were inside the failed portal turned on"

"Yep"

Suddenly a memory surged within Tsukune and he spoke "Danny, you press button?"

"Button?" Sam and Tucker echoed.

It was then that Danny's eyes widened and he smacked himself on the forehead, hard _'dammit dad!'_

"What're you talking about?" Sam questioned

"Yeah dude spill"

The now white haired teen sighed "while I was inside the portal I think I pressed the 'on' button by accident."

"…."

"…."

"…an 'on' button" Sam said slowly.

"Yeah" Danny nodded.

"..inside of a ghost portal?" Tucker continued.

"Yeah.." he trailed off.

Tsukune couldn't believe it either and only one thought ran through their minds.

' _Why would he put the on button on the inside of a ghost portal?)'_

A thought occurred to Danny, this entire time he and Tsukune have been freaking out they've overlooked one important thing.

"So we're ghosts now" he said placing a hand over his heart.

Realization dawned on Tsukune's face and he mirrored the move. There was no heartbeat.

Wait so did that mean they died!?

Tsukune's mind reeled, he's dead. Suddenly the room started spinning, he felt light headed and he was sure that his heartbeat, if he had one, would be pounding out of his chest. His stomach felt queasy

"BLEEEEECH"

"Oh gross!"

"Tsukune.."

He didn't hear anything else as he collapsed onto the floor, before he completely blacked out he was vaguely aware of a flash of bright light.

…

"Ugh" the foreign boy had a major case of déjà vu as he groggily sat up.

He instantly recalled the memory of going in the portal, seeing himself in the mirror and finding out he was a….ghost. He looked at his hands, they were his normal almost tanned tone, he felt his heart beating.

He released a sigh of relief and looked around. He was in Danny's room, on his bed which was weird since he always used the futon. Wait how did he fall asleep? Oh right. Smacking his lips Tsukune tasted something in his mouth and cringed before blowing his breath on his hand and smelling it.

"Ugh" that smelled worse than it tasted. He needed to rinse his mouth.

Tsukune headed into the bathroom and did just that. To knock the sleepiness from his eyes he splashed his face with a handful of water. Wiping his face he look at himself in the mirror for a moment before his eyes flashed neon green.

"Ah!" he jumped back startled before slowly approaching the mirror.

He stared at his reflection before his eyes flashed green but stayed like that until he blinked and it was chocolate brown. After a moment he looked at his hands and concentrated, he didn't know what he was doing but he was hoping something would happen.

And it did- his hand didn't turn invisible but it became slightly see through. In fact looking over, so did his entire body. He tried to touch the mirror and his fingers went through it. So it wasn't a dream, he was a ghost but-

*Thump-thump*

His heart was still beating so how is this possible? Was he some kind of living ghost?

*knock knock*

"(Tsukune are you in there?)"

"(Y-yes kaa-san)"

"(Oh, I just wanted to say that dinner is ready)" with her piece said Kasumi began to leave.

*Clatter*

She paused "(are you alright in there?)"

"(Yes, I'm fine kaa-san, I'll be down in a minute)" he replied.

"(…Okay)" she said hesitantly.

Tsukune was most certainly _not_ alright. Halfway into the conversation he began sinking into the ground and this caused him to hang onto the shower curtain and pull himself up. The good thing was that it worked, the bad news was that the curtain popped off and he was sent sprawling to the ground.

Rubbing his head Tsukune looked at the curtain then his hand. This was going to be a problem and he wondered if Danny was faring any better.

…

' _(I guess not)'_ Tsukune thought as he saw his cousin sitting at the table.

Danny tried his best to look normal but he could see that his hair was a mess, his clothes looked disheveled and he looked around nervously. Their eyes met and Danny's flashed green for a split second as did Tsukune's. In that moment they knew they would have to be very careful around their parents.

…

"Well that was horrible" Danny muttered as they entered his room.

Between trying to keep their powers under wraps and acting without suspicion the cousins felt drained. Luckily the gods smiled upon them as the only persons who would be perceptive enough to notice their poor attempts at being inconspicuous were busy distracting themselves.

Their parents were all talking about how their experimental Ghost Portal suddenly started working. Tsukune's parents apparently saw it but Koji didn't want anything to do with his brother's obsession so after seeing it his son would not go near it.

Danny jumped on his bed with a groan "why did I go into that stupid portal?"

Tsukune sighed looking at the game, suddenly the prospect of playing it didn't sound so appealing.

"What we do now?" he asked.

Danny propped himself on his elbow "do? There's nothing _to_ do except ignore the weirdness and pretend this whole day didn't happen" he concluded.

Tsukune blinked then frowned at his cousin's dismissive attitude. Sure he didn't like their situation anymore than he did but ignoring it?

"Danny" he began "we can't ignore this."

"Then what do you think we should do, huh?" he raised an eyebrow "tell our parents?"

Tsukune paused, that had crossed his mind but he was worried about what they would think, not to mention his uncle and aunt. He gulped, they were ghost hunters and from how eager his uncle spoke about capturing ghosts he didn't know if they would make an exception for them.

Danny saw his cousin slump and took it as a sign of victory "thought so" he muttered.

Yet his victory was a hollow one, truth is he wished he could tell his parents and that they would be able to understand what he was going through and help him. He almost snorted at the thought, it wasn't that they were bad people no far from it.

It was just that when it comes to ghosts they became obsessive with proving they exist to the point where they ignore things. It's the reason why he's grown distant and the reason, he thinks, Jazz grew from his dependable older sister to a conceited snob who nags people and always thinks she knows what's best.

"Still.." he heard Tsukune began causing Danny to look at him annoyed "we need control"

Danny paused "what?"

"We….need….control" he said slowly.

"Yeah I know what you said but how are we supposed to do that?"

"Hmm" he cupped his chin even as Danny held his cheek and propped his elbows on his thighs.

"We train?"

Danny raised his eyebrow "train?" Tsukune nodded "that is a really.." he trailed off before continuing "actually that could work" he said after thinking about it.

"It is?" he asked more surprised that Danny didn't try and dismiss it.

"Yeah, I mean if we have more control" he stood "then I don't have to deal with any close calls with my parents and Jazz" just then his pants fell down.

"And my pants won't fall down every five minutes" he said irritatingly pulling up his pants.

This caused Tsukune to look at his own and thanked heavens that he wore a belt.

"Where we go?"

Danny paused "I don't know?"

"…."

"….we're gonna need help from Sam and Tucker" he concluded and Tsukune nodded.

The next day Danny and Tsukune met up with Sam and Tucker and explained the plan. They were instantly on board.

"By the way, where are we going anyway?"

"I ever told you about my uncle?"

"No" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well he helps manages the junkyard. I asked him if we could hang out there for a few hours" he smiled "he said yes."

A few minutes later they arrived at the junkyard and after Tucker's uncle Jeremy gave them a clear path they went to find a secluded place. They found one where the garbage towered and blocked a good height from the curious eyes when asked why it is important the boys shared a look and smirked.

"You'll see"

Sam rolled her eyes and sat on the hood of a rusty car "so what now?"

Tucker stepped up "ahem, as with most superheroes who gain their powers you're still adjusting to yours. So in the tradition of almost all superheroes you need to constantly expose your powers in order to properly control them."

When Tucker's speech was finished she turned to boys "okay, so what are you two gonna do?"

"Uh I guess first we transform?" he looked to Tsukune who nodded.

This got Tucker's attention now "so what're you waiting for?"

"Hey, it's not as easy as you think alright!" Danny snapped then looked to Tsukune "on the count of three" he closed his eyes "one, two, three" his eyes snapped open "I'm going ghost!" he spread his fist apart.

Before either of them could comment two white rings of light appeared around his waist and went vertical parallel over their body. When the rings vanished both boys wore the same jumpsuit identical to the one they had on when they first entered the inoperable portal. The difference was that the colors were inverted; the body was black while the belt boots and gloves were white. Their hairs were white as snow and their eyes were neon green and finally they seem to have some ethereal glow around them.

Sam and Tucker took a moment to drink it all in, if they weren't around them so much then they wouldn't think that these two were even Danny and Tsukune. Their facial appearance didn't change much but Danny was a little bit more tanned and Tsukune was paler. The difference was small yet if they didn't know them they wouldn't guess it was them.

"Wow.." was what Sam managed to get out before Tucker interrupted.

"Okay that was kinda cool!" he grinned.

Sam shook her head before folding her arms "yeah but, 'I'm going ghost' where did that come from?" she smirked.

All eyes were on the now ghostly boy who had the decency to blush "it was the first thing that came to mind alright!" he huffed.

Tsukune sighed "we start now?"

"Yeah" Danny nodded.

"Okay, show us what you got" Tucker.

…..

Several hours of demonstrations, accidents involving sudden transformation back into humans, venturing to Nasty Burger for a bite and even more exploration of the half ghosts' powers later and Tucker's uncle had to kick them out. Time seems to fly by when one watches something out of this world for long apparently as it was late in the evening before they left.

"So to count off the powers you guys have" Tucker started

"Flight, invisibility, intangibility, super strength-" Sam counted her fingers "what?"

Tsukune and Danny shared a glance and shrugged but conceded to his point.

"Now what did we miss?" Tucker tapped his chin.

"Don't forget that weird ghost tail thing" Danny added grudgingly.

"Oh yeah" Tucker laughed "that was hilarious!"

Danny grumbled at how the first time his legs turned into a ghost tail he freaked out, transformed back to human and fell to the ground. Luckily he wasn't that far off but when he stood up again his legs went intangible and his pants fell down.

Tsukune chuckled at the memory…for about two seconds before he averted his eyes away from a glaring Danny.

As they arrived at the intersection where Tucker and Sam have to leave they looked to each other "same time tomorrow?" Tucker asked.

All eyes were on Danny who sighed "yeah sure" he offered a weak smile.

The boy would admit that despite what happened before, today was a lot of fun, definitely more exciting than what he'd plan to do if he didn't get any ghost powers that's for sure. The two half ghosts walked in comfortable silence, the day had gone off without a hitch. They both felt some more semblance of control despite the numerous accidents occurring but that's a given.

Danny still wanted to get rid of the powers and be normal again but for now he was content with the day.

 _Unknown Location_

The image of Tsukune and Danny entering the house was shown on one of the many infinite screens.

"Hmm" a deep voice echoed.

The image shifted to Tsukune and Danny in their ghost forms practicing in the junkyard.

"Interesting" the voice mused and the image of the two ghost boys froze.

 _To Be Continued._

 **Author's Notes: And cut, that's a wrap people. From my perspective Danny at first hated his powers because they made him not normal so it is my belief that when he got them he didn't use them for the entire month before the first month. He chose the 'if I ignore it, it would go away' route instead of trying to control them.**

 **From my understanding Tsukune would think the powers are inconvenient but I don't think he would dismiss them. He's more accepting of things once he has time for the shock factor to dissipate.**

 **Won't be updating for a while I think I'll write at least 5 more chapter before the next update and release them weekly.**


	3. A Half Ghost And A Witch

**Author's Notes: hello one and all I just wanted to say that I have overcome my writer's block and you can expect updates just not frequently but I'm not dead yet.**

 **First of all I didn't expect this story to be immediately popular in terms of favorites and followers for Rosario Vampire and Danny Phantom but I can see that it is well received by the ones who took the time to check for anything new in this fledgling crossover category.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Half Ghost A Witch**

The door opened and in walked a ragged looking Tsukune holding two suitcases. He had bags under his lidded eyes, a slouched posture as he dragged himself inside kicking the door behind him close and dropped the suitcase before allowing himself to collapse on his bed, his sweet, comfortable bed.

"I made it" his muffled voice sounded.

Saying farewell to his cousin and his family wasn't a problem he knew he would be in contact with them soon enough. Sam and Tucker were added to his list of contacts since they knew about his powers. Things like that tend to bring people together in ways most wouldn't understand.

The problem was the flight itself and despite the semblance of control he got because of his training he still didn't have full control just yet. There was always that uncertainty, that fear he would slip up, lose control and expose himself or in this case slip _through_ the plane and end up being stranded in the middle of wherever.

Ability to fly or not Tsukune doubted he would be able to match the speed of a plane. As far as he knew super speed wasn't one of his powers so he stayed the entire flight worrying.

On one hand he's close to passing out but on the other hand he made it! Now he won't have to worry about falling through the ground and being lost in the transatlantic.

*Yawn*

Turning on his back to stare at the ceiling Tsukune began thinking about his powers. Things aren't going to be the same; his ordinary life just got turned upside down.

*Yawn*

' _I'll deal with it tomorrow'_ he thought drowsily.

…

"Tsukune!" his mother's called from outside his door knocking "it's time to make up sweetie"

His eyes opened and chocolate orbs stared at the darkness in confusion. It was still dark and was his bed always this hard?

 _Wait_

He turned his head and yep, he was under the bed _'I really hope this doesn't become normal'_ he sighed.

"I'm awake Kaa-san" he spoke when his head peeked out from under his bed.

"Breakfast is downstairs on the table" she said and he heard footsteps going down the hall.

Tsukune didn't even bother to extricate himself the old fashioned way. No he simply stood up allowing his body to phase through the furniture. By now he was used to that tingling sensation he got when passing through solid objects.

Intangibility was the first power he and Danny tried to control. Next to spontaneous invisibility it was the power that could compromise them. He can willingly activate it but for some reason it sometimes goes off randomly.

Tsukune still had a month before his last year of middle school begins and as much as he would like to stay home and just enjoy his vacation _like he planned_ , he'll need to find a spot to train himself.

It'll have to be close enough for him to at least reach home in under 10 minutes since his parents know he doesn't hang out with friends and would get suspicious if he took a certain amount of time to get back.

' _Mom did say I should get out more'_ he intoned.

So that's what Tsukune found himself doing while walking the streets of his neighborhood but having no luck in finding a place. Unlike Amity Park there weren't any convenient closed off junkyards and any abandoned building were either slated for demolition or were occupied by delinquents.

He sighed "looks like I have no choice" he mumbled

He'll have to look outside his neighborhood and considering most of the city was going through urbanization he'll have a lot of searching to do. Unfortunately he didn't bring any money for the bus, why would he when he told his mother he was just going for a walk. Also he isn't the most athletic person so walking was definitely out of the question.

So he found a secluded area and looked around for extra measure "yosh" twin rings of light enveloped his body.

Dork brown hair turned snow white, his skin became noticeably paler and his attire switched to a black jumpsuit with white boots, gloves, collar and belt. Tsukune opened his eyes which now shun neon green as he looked around again before turning invisible and flying off.

Once he was near the clouds he allowed himself to be visible again. Of all the powers he had, Tsukune could say with utmost certainty that flight was his favorite. Whenever he flew there was always this indescribable feeling of freedom he had whenever he flew.

During his training with Danny he was far too busy to take a step back and simply enjoy the merits of their powers. Danny especially didn't want to do that and up to the very end of his visit his cousin was adamant on finding a way to get rid of them.

Tsukune had agreed with him too…at first. Sure the powers _were_ and to a point still _are_ an inconvenience at least and a real pain in the ass at most but in all honesty he could deal with it if he got to enjoy this at his leisure. Soaring through the sky feeling the find on his face, if he had a heartbeat no doubt would it be thumping because of the adrenaline he would no doubt be experiencing.

Nothing could ruin this moment.

*Whoosh*

Suddenly alight washed over him causing several things to happen. First his flight slowed to the point where he was gliding from the momentum, he could see his actual hands not white gloves and he was now _very_ aware of his rapidly beating heart. Then the realization finally clicked after the shock

He transformed back into a human.

He…transformed back into a human….while flying several hundred feet above ground level.

A bird flew pass and gave him a quizzical look and the only thing he got out when he stopped gliding was "eh?"

Then the fall "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH…." he flailed his arms as he spun out of control.

The ground was approaching fast which didn't help to alleviate his fear and panic in the least. Shutting his eyes he clenched his fist and curled in a fetal position with his back to the ground.

"Change back, change back!" he repeated desperately trying to will his transformation forth.

As he freefell into what would've been the world bloodiest cannon ball that familiar feeling came to him. His eyes snapped open now neon green, he stretched his body *phoosh*

"STOP!"

His descent came to an abrupt end and if he could, would've panting, instead he needlessly took in and blew out air.

*Phoosh*

"Oh-oh-aaahhoof" his fall stopped sooner than he though when his back collided with something.

There were several snaps before his body hit the ground. He didn't move from his position, in fact he remained perfectly still. His chest heaved and lowered with each and every sporadic breath.

' _I'm alive'_ his hands roamed his chest and settled on his face _'I'm alive!'_

Tsukune shook his head, that was just... he didn't even want to think about it so he instead stared at the sky. The passing clouds served as a catharsis for his high blood pressure and once he deemed himself ready Tsukune sat up slowly.

It was weird how he felt so tired even though he didn't physically exert himself, as far as he knew flying didn't require any exertion more like concentration and not much. Guess near death experiences can do that to you.

"Ow" he reached for that sore spot on his back as he staggered to his feet.

His other hand touched what he was lying down on and he got to see what broke his fall "sunflower?"

His eyes scanned the area and to his amazement he was completely surrounded by the plants. Row after row of sunflowers as far as the eye can see and not only were they numerous but also big, some of them bigger than him.

"Wow" he whispered

The drop could've been worse if it wasn't for them. Wait, where was he anyway? He can't remember a place with a sunflower patch as big as this. Then again he never really went out much either so there's that.

The best choice right now is to go ghost and get an aerial view. He paused to consider _'yeah no'_ after what just happened he's feeling a little attached to the ground right now and won't be flying anytime soon. He'll walk home, if he can find out where is first.

As Tsukune wandered into the thick of the patch a figure came through the row a few seconds after and stood before the fallen sunflowers. The figure who held a staff in hand knelt down before the plants. The staff glowed and the dead sunflowers stood upright as if they hadn't been crushed.

A crow flew from their shoulder in Tsukune's direction and the figure followed, gripping the staff harder.

"I am so lost"

That was the official consensus Tsukune came to after twenty minutes of aimless wandering. He had no idea where he was, where he's going or if he's heading in the right direction. The only thing he did know was that he was in a sunflower patch-no sunflower _field_ that just stretches on and on.

Not to mention the entire place was devoid of life and he was convinced he was the only person even there.

 _Wait a minute_

A secluded place that no one visits that's far away from his house?

Isn't this the place he's been searching for all this time? Tsukune chuckled to himself, here he was trying to find a place and he's been walking in it this entire time.

Pink-red eyes narrowed as they glared in the cover of the sunflowers behind him. The figure's staff gave off a faint glow and vines began to slowly slither towards the unsuspecting teen. Just as the vines were ready to pull at his ankles

"Gah, but I'm still lost!" he shouted to the heavens while grabbing at his head.

At the same time the vines acted, quick as a snake they coiled… _through_ his ankles, hands and mouth before retreating back into the cover to the figure's complete shock and Tsukune's utter obliviousness. Though his eyes were closed Tsukune did feel the tingling sensation that comes with phasing.

' _What was that?'_ his eyes became sharp as his head turned to the side. Before long his eyes widened and he made a run for it.

The figure stepped out of the cover with the look of disbelief still on their face. Disbelief soon turned into suspicion as they followed after the boy.

Meanwhile Tsukune was running towards a specific destination. The closer he got the more he could hear it and there was no mistaking what that sound was. Eventually, for the first time since he arrived he viewed something besides sunflowers.

What he was looking at was an overhead view of the ocean. Walking closer to the edge he could see a beach just below the base of the cliff. He still didn't know where he was but if there's a beach then there has got to be people around somewhere. Then he could know where he is.

It was several meters into the walk by the cliff edge did Tsukune get the feeling he wasn't alone. This definitely felt like the time when he was ambushed by some punks at school.

*Rustle*

That wasn't just his imagination, something moved "who's there?" his eyes roamed the area of the noise.

"Caw" Tsukune jumped but calmed down when the crow came out "whew it was just a croHMPH!?"

Something wrapped around his arms legs and mouth then yanked him back "so it was just a fluke" the voice caused him to stop struggling.

The vines that bound him slowly turned around to where the voice originated and what he saw shocked him. It was a girl, an admittedly cute girl who wore a pink corset and a long brown skirt.

"You are going to regret coming here, human" her voice dripped with venom and a scowl marred her face.

"HMPH!? Was the muffled reply.

She raised her staff "don't bother trying to escape" the vines tightened.

His eyes widened when he felt _something_ prick his skin, he caught site of the plant vines shaped like a mosquito bite into his skin. He suddenly felt tired but that wasn't the worst part, he saw something rise from the row of sunflowers.

Tsukune's blood ran cold, _that_ was no sunflower.

" **F..ood** " the plant monster _spoke_.

Despite his sudden lack of energy Tsukune began to struggle even more and the large venus fly-trap monster lunged at him. He bit into his gag, clenched his fist and felt that familiar power welling up, he concentrated and let it explode.

"AAAAHHHH" *PHWOOSH*

The girl watched in muted astonishment as the twin rings of white light disintegrated the vines and repelled the plant creature. The boy dropped on all fours before his head snapped up. Panicked neon green eyes met astonished pink-red as they stared at each other.

" **Graah"** the plant creature lunged at him at the same time he got to his feet.

"Wait!" the girl shouted and the creature obeyed.

Tsukune had his fist up in a clumsy boxing stance as he warily watch the girl come closer "stay back!" he warned

The girl did stop, her features softened and she regarded him with curiosity "I'm not going to hurt you" she said in a calming tone.

Tsukune had a very hard time believing that, especially since there was a giant man eating plant monster hovering beside her.

' _I have to get out of here!'_ he thought frantically eyes flashing between her and the monster.

The girl saw this and with a wave of her staff the monster started retreating "I'm sorry I thought you were human. Your disguise is really good"

Tsukune look affronted "I am a human" he retorted with a scowl.

To his shock the girl giggled pointing at him and was it his imagination or was she getting shorter?

He looked down "oh come on" he complained. He couldn't even tell he was floating now.

"You don't have to pretend" she placed a hand on her chest "I'm not human either"

Tsukune paused in his struggle to control his ascension to stare at her _'what?'_ he also stopped floating up.

Right before his the girl sprouted four black wings and flew to his position in the air where she stayed with a small smile "my name is Ruby. I'm a witch."

The silence that followed after that proclamation was interrupted by a gust of wind as a bird flew by with a squawk. On the outside Tsukune gave her the dumbest blank expression ever, of all time. On the inside however his mind was running so fast that his brain can't decide what to do and so went on standby.

The girl, Ruby gave him a few seconds before her smile faltered and she began to worry for him. He was younger than her and to be honest she's never seen or heard of a being like him before. She felt that she may have made a bad impression on the younger boy.

She floated closer to him "are you alright?"

"…."

She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"…!" he flinched from her touch _when did she get so close!?_

With renewed panic Tsukune's brain finally decided to do something. Unbeknownst to him his hands started glowing green _"stay_ _**back**_!" he yelled and shoved her.

Only when his hand made contact the unsuspecting girl was blasted through the sunflower by a luminescent green energy that definitely came from Tsukune's hands. By the time it stopped Ruby was out of view leaving Tsukune to float there and gawk at his hands which were covered in green smoke.

"what, was, that?"

Then a sound caught his attention so he did what any normal 14 year old (with ghost powers) would do and flew the hell out of there. Tsukune at least had the sense of mind to turn invisible as well so it would look like he disappeared.

On his flight he saw a sign that said Witch's Knoll and if he were just a bit more crazy, would laugh at the irony. Witch's Knoll, home to a witch, that just tried to kill him with a plant monster. During the entire flight he kept looking back in case he was being followed. Then he remembered he was invisible and almost face palmed then and there.

A few more minutes of flying at top speed and he came upon his house and landed behind a corner, turned human and sprinted to his house. Once inside he didn't pay any attention to his mother whom was absorbed in her stories and made his way to his room. Once inside he managed to lock the door and shut the blinds before exhaustion finally caught up with him and he fell on his bed panting.

First it was a near freefall death then it was a witch, a real honest to goodness witch controlling a freaking plant monster…A PLANT MONSTER THAT _TALKS_. He looked to his hands

' _Maybe Danny was right'_

He would bet his life savings that this would've never happened if he didn't get ghost powers

After a few minutes of staring at nothing to calm his heart rateTsukune began pacing the room _'what now?'_ so there's a witch at Witches Knoll that tried to kill him.

"Heh" this time he did chuckle at the irony of it.

Should he call the police?

' _And get arrested for prank calling or get thrown in an asylum?'_

He could always ignore the problem but _'she tried to kill me….for being_ _ **human**_ _'_

What did she mean by that?

Aren't witches human except they know magic?

Then there was the fact that she didn't look surprise when he turned ghost/ well she certainly didn't expect it but he wouldn't say she was surprised.. more curious than anything else. Her attitude did a complete 180

She went from _I'll kill you_ to _let's be friends_ faster than he could say _stay back!_

Does that mean there are others like him, like her? Ghost exist, he Danny and the portal in his cousin's basement are proof of that. Then could it be that other supernatural monsters are out there too?

Well he just got attacked by a witch controlling some kind of plant..monster so…

"Youkai exist"

He let himself drop on his bed with a long groan, is this his new life now? First day of being home and he gets attacked by a witch and finds out that there are probably more mythological creatures out there

"She almost killed me" two near death experiences in one day "wait" he sat up.

If she almost killed him for being human then does that mean he wasn't the first? His eyes drifted to the computer, he'll have to do some investigation.

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: That's right I'm back with a vengeance and that answers whether Tsukune would meet any of the girls ah, don't expect him to meet anyone else or do. I don't even know about that. Anyway I plan on going through even the most obscure oneshot powers I've seen Danny use in the show.**

 **The one Tsukune used on the plant monster was called aural projection I think, it's where his white rings act as a barrier that sweeps over his body deflecting anything close. Then there is the ghost ray and don't say something like "but its too early" not true. I read Danny's powers are circumstantial and he used his ghost ray when Desiree tried to touch him and he freaked out. Same situation with Tsukune**

 **Anyway I just want to clear up a few misconceptions here for the people who are suggesting girls for me to pair with either Danny or Tsukune. To answer those reviews, no I will not do any of them. I am a fan of harem stories but personally I don't like how it's done in Rosario Vampire. Yes I could do it differently make the girls more realistic in their affections and actually have a plausible reason for liking either of them but it is just so** _ **boring.**_

 **Seriously I've seen the usual suspects (you know who) be shipped with Tsukune and Danny in different ways. I don't want my story to be like that, I don't hate the usual ships but they are too stale to** _ **me.**_ **It's the reason why I made this story a year before canon instead of doing a timeskip or sending Tsukune to Yokai Academy with ghost powers off the bat. That would just result in something similar to ghost Fang's story.**

 **Plus I simply refuse to make up some bullshit reason for Danny to be shipped to Youkai Academy. And before you say the headmaster just be clear that he has a lot of connections but he isn't omnipotent so the only person who could tell him about Danny and ghost powers would be Clockwork and he and Danny aren't so close…yet.**

 **In conclusion stop suggesting ships and also just because he met Ruby doesn't mean there's going to a flag raised, different circumstances remember.**

 **Please leave a review of what you think so far.**


	4. A Half Ghost And The Grandmaster

**Author's Notes: Well I believe that last chapter made a statement and judging by the reviews and the jump in favorites and follows you all liked what it had to say. Special Thanks to Foxchick1 a frequent reviewer and supporter who actually PMed me to ask when I'd update, she's the reason why I decided to post it today instead sometime next week.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: A Half Ghost and The Grandmaster**

Tsukune stared at the small screen in muted horror. He had made good on his promise to research Witches Knoll and came up with plenty. Apparently the place has been in a legal battle for time now. The government's urbanization plan wanted to tear it down but it was being met with heavy resistance from various environmental agencies.

Those agencies are fighting a losing battle trying to save that place but that doesn't matter. What does matter to him is the number of strange disappearances which occur in and around the place. Over 30 people he counted and that was just the ones who had people filing a missing person's report.

' _30 people'_ he placed his head in his hands _'what now?'_

He can't go to the police, not without proof and even if he had proof how are they supposed to deal with a witch?

The answer is they don't because they _can't._

Tsukune doesn't know much about law enforcement but he's pretty sure dealing with a mythical being isn't part of protocol and in a war of guns against magic..well anyone who watches anime or read manga know how that battle would turn out.

… _.what about magic vs. ghost powers?_

Who said that? Where did that thought even come from? That is a really dumb idea. He may have ghost powers but he's no hero, he could barely even control the damn things.

His eyes locked onto the screen, they hovered over the 30. For all he knew that number could be tripled in a few years or hell a couple of months if they ever brought a construction crew to demolish the place.

 _With great power comes great responsibility_ _TM_

Ugh, he's going to get Danny back for introducing him to American comics.

"Agh" he tussled his hair, this thing was eating at him.

Sure going after the witch was the right thing to do but with self preservation in mind he would like _not_ to be skewered by thorny plants or worse get eaten by one. Eventually Tsukune sighed and looked at the screen with a focused gaze but still undetermined.

If he was going to make a decision about this he needed a second opinion.

\\\

 _D: You're kidding right?_

Tsukune couldn't help but groan in exasperation _'I knew this would happen'_

 _T: No I'm not!_ He typed back

 _Meanwhile in America_

Danny, Sam and Tucker stared at the former's monitor with mixed feelings. Danny of course didn't want to believe it but then again he has ghost powers so anything should be possible but come on, an actual Witch!?

Sam was at a cross with her feelings. On one hand she was both appalled and worried that her friend was attacked by a witch but on the other hand WICTHES EXIST. That meant witchcraft was real and if this witch didn't apparently hate humans then she'd be on the next flight to Japan.

Tucker on the other hand was skeptical at best but if there was one thing he knew about Tsukune from interacting with him plus Danny's stories its that the Japanese boy is honest to a fault. It was just a gut feeling but he seems like a straight shooter to Tuck and unlike his cousin wouldn't make a joke about something like this.

Besides there is no way any 14 year old has enough acting skills to pull off the exasperated, downright tired expression he was currently seeing through the box window of Skype.

Danny eventually sighed and began typing "are you sure that's what you saw because if this is some kind of joke then its not a very believable one"

The trio waited as the message was put through a translator before being sent to Tsukune. Once he got it they saw his brow furrowed and he glared at them through the screen before typing.

 _T: I'm not if you don't believe me then look up Witches Knoll_

They did just that and came upon pictures of the largest sunflower patch they've ever seen. The flowers were large beautiful and Sam had even more incentive to buy a plane ticket right then.

"Wow that's a lot of sunflowers" Danny commented.

"Yeah and big too" Tucker added "what'd they do lace their water with steroids?"

Sam scoffed "oh please, just because sunflowers don't grow big over here doesn't mean its unnatural. This is just what happens when we allow nature to grow without human interference"

"Well it look s like 'human interference' is gonna happen now" Danny cut in "looks like they want to tear it down and build some kind of mall"

"What!?" she leaned in closer shoving Danny's head away to read it then scowled "they can't do that! That place is probably the largest natural sunflower patch, it should be a national landmark! Why would they want to destroy it for some stupid mall!? It probably home to a lot of wildlife!"

"..and witches" Tucker added.

Then it hit them "you know I'd be pretty ticked if someone tried to tear my home down" Danny said

"She didn't attack Tsukune because he was human" Tucker began

"-she was protecting her home" Sam finished with some sympathy.

Well at least they were starting to get somewhere with this, maybe it was a misunderstanding either a mistake on the witch's part or because Tsukune freaked out seeing a witch for the first time. Either way it could be a misunderstanding.

 _D: What exactly happened?_

Tsukune read the message and felt relief flood in. they were at least taking him seriously enough to want to know the full story. So he typed, recounting all that happened with him flying, then falling, trekking through the sunflower patch before being attacked by a giant man-eating plant monster when the witch revealed herself and finally how he flew away after blasting them both with a green energy beam.

Tsukune paused, he had almost completely forgotten about that. He briefly looked at his hand in concentration before a faint glow enveloped it and he immediately clenched his hand into a fist. The glow was immediately snuffed out like a candle light which was good, the last thing he needed was to blast a hole in his room.

After reading the entire story there was silence, there were only two things that stuck out in that story, the plant monster and "shot her with a green energy blast?" Sam looked to Danny.

Said boy shrugged "I don't know, I can't do that"

"Yet" Tucker added, unlike his friend he was very interested in the prospect of a new ghost power "we are so going to practice later" Danny rolled his eyes as he type.

 _D: We think she might've just been protecting her home. Any chance this was all a misunderstanding?_

 _T: I read reports that said over 30 people have gone missing around that area_

After reading that there was a resounding silence as they contemplated those written words before Danny typed again

 _D: You have to stop her_

 _T: How?_

 _D: You have powers, use them_

 _T: And do what!?_

 _D: Fight_

They saw Tsukune placed his head on his hand with what they figured was an exasperated sigh. He then took a deep breath

 _T: Okay so maybe I fight her and maybe I win. Then what?_

Danny went to type out of frustration at his cousin's hesitance to do what's right when Tucker spoke "he has a point dude"

"What do you mean?" Danny furrowed his brows

"Well it's not as if he could, you know" he motioned a finger across his throat "and that's if he could actually win."

"There's always the police?" Danny suggested

"Okay even if that did work what do you think they would do to a witch?" Sam chided

Danny didn't respond and he felt ashamed of suggesting it since they would hand her over to the government who would probably do the same things his parents said they would do to the first ghost they capture.

He suppressed a shudder

"Maybe he can convince her to stop" Sam suggested

"Yeah but how?"

"Look" she began "the only reason why she's doing this is to protect her home so what if her home wasn't in danger anymore?"

Both boys shared a look "uh, where are you going with this?" Danny questioned warily.

Sam grinned mischievously "I'm talking about corporate sabotage"

"Wow you're taking this eco-terrorism thing seriously aren't you?" tucker spoke.

"Of course!" she outright shoved Danny aside and typed her idea.

Tsukune read the message and gave them a blank look

 _T: I don't know what that means but I'll try to stop her_

 _D: Good luck_

Tsukune turned off the computer and sighed, he's been doing that a lot today.

So he will have to fight, well that's just perfect, at least he has a new power to fight with. There's still just one problem with that option – how is he supposed to fight a witch?

Hell, how is he supposed to fight…period.

Let it be known that Tsukune Aono is a wimp, he has no idea how to fight, has never been in a fight and always submits at the first sign of an altercation which makes him an easy mark for bullies. Sure he could probably wing it by using his powers but if he were to be honest Tsukune just isn't the type to take risks like that.

Maybe he would if someone close was being threatened, like his family…or a really cute girl but this one was all him. If he messed up then he'll probably die and though it might sound selfish he wasn't about to risk his life on a technicality for some random strangers. Besides if he fails then he would just be one more missing person among the many that will follow afterwards.

"Ah what did I get myself into?"

One day, he's been home for _one day_ and he has to deal with this!

"If there's a God out there, he hates me"

He's 14 for heaven's sake! He shouldn't be worried about surviving a life and death battle with a witch he should be at home playing online games with his cousin. Well there is no way he can _not_ do it anymore so he'll at least need to know how to defend himself. Plus he'll have to practice with his powers but that's the least of his two worries at the moment.

The easiest way he knew for learning self defense was to join some kind of dojo which should be easier than actually asking his parents' permission. Oh that ought to be a lovely conversation.

* * *

The next day Tsukune went about searching for a dojo to join. It wasn't a problem though since there was literally an entire district of dojos for all forms of martial arts. Tsukune didn't really care much for _what_ he learned as long as it made the odds of not dying greater. The problem he did eventually have was that none of the dojos actually fit his ideal for what a dojo is like.

When Tsukune thinks dojo he thinks something akin to a shaolin monastery with disciplined students like soldiers practicing with dedication. To top it all off their master would probably be something like an old wise sage or something.

Man the truth couldn't be any further from that ideal and most of the dojos fit the term 'all flair, no substance.'

The first dojo he went to was really just a bunch of delinquents. They were big, muscled and the moment they saw him were a little _too_ enthusiastic about having him join. Even the dojo's sensei was some kind of body builder with a scar who was only interested as far when he could pay tuition.

Not that Tsukune held it against him after all, how else was he supposed to pay for nice looking white tuxedo he wore. Tsukune would later compare that dojo to a gym with all that exercising equipment he saw laying around. Tsukune high tailed it out of there when he realized he was the _only_ guy in there who didn't look like he was on steroids.

It went on like this for a while the dojos that weren't too expensive or didn't outright reject him just didn't feel like a dojo to him. Eventually he went through all the dojos in the district with no results. Looking back he felt the overwhelming disappointment of this entire day.

When he looked at the dojos in the district he could compare it to that home shopping channel his mother got hooked on last year. They advertise their gaudy, eye pleasing merchandises to desperate looking people who buy it at high prices but in reality is some 'low quality garbage.'

That's what his father said about the stuff his mother got tricked into buying. That was the year he saw his even tempered, good natured father truly pissed. It was not a pretty sight, his mother agreed and up to this day he's never seen his mother watch anything even related to home shopping.

"Huh" Tsukune blinked and looked around "where am I?"

Weird, he could've sworn he went the way he came in. He was still in the district since there were building with dojo signs but he didn't recognize the street he was on. The buildings looked abandoned and the signs worn.

' _This place gives me the creeps'_ he thought which was funny since he was a ghost, well, half ghost but still.

His brown eyes scanned the area, he could turn back but it's a long way home plus he still needed to find a place to train his newly acquired ghost power anyway.

"Maybe I can go ghost in one of the building and fly away"

He blinked, go ghost? Geez Danny's rubbing off too much on him.

Tsukune walked down the street trying to find a corner, the further he went the more cold it got or at least to him anyway. It wasn't a temperature drop per se but he felt a chill ran down his spine, he still kept walking until

*Gasp* green mist escaped his mouth and his gaze automatically locked onto a clearly abandoned dojo which he noticed was old, really old.

The architecture of the building was something he's only seen in history books. The building itself was made out of wood that has rotted with age giving it a creepy almost haunted look. To cement this very belief the face of the building was covered with talismans.

Yep the type of talismans used by priests _'do those even work?'_ he wondered.

*Gasp* another puff of that green mist _'what is that?'_ he poked it _'warm'_

He didn't know what it was but it was definitely his ghost powers. He also got the feeling it had to do with that dojo so against his better judgment Tsukune went closer to the building.

*Gasp* his eyes darted to what he saw was the silhouette of someone. He blinked and the silhouette was gone but now Tsukune was fearful.

' _Okay c-calm down you turned half ghost last week, you met a witch_ _ **yesterday**_ _so of course ghosts are real'_

Still didn't stop him from being scared though.

He shook his head "what am I being scared for?" his brows furrowed "I'm part ghost if anything they'll probably be friendly" and if not he could always blast them with green energy. As a matter of fact- he looked around and once the coast was clear he transformed and attempted to fly inside.

Key word _attempted_

The moment he touched the building something like a couple volts of electricity ran through his body before he dropped unceremoniously to the ground.

"What-what was that?" he groaned slowly turning to his stomach to look at the door.

He could've sworn for split second he saw some kind of wall of…something before it turned invisible. His eyes widened before they narrowed on the talisman.

' _No way'_

He stood up and eyed the piece of paper with the word 'seal' written in kanji. Tsukune raised his hand where it turned intangible before slowly placing it on the seal. The result was almost instantaneous he yelped in pain before retracting his hand which felt numb. In fact Tsukune felt weaker than he did two minutes ago.

His eyes widened "it actually works" he eyed the paper talisman stuck to the door like a red tape before turning human again.

He released a breath before reaching for the talisman again, he closed his eyes when he felt paper on his finger tips but no pain. His eyes snapped open and he felt the talisman, it wasn't made out of any different material as far as he felt, just a regular piece of paper. He felt the edges and slowly peeled it off like scotch tape, funny he didn't even see any residue to suggest any adhesives were used to stick it to door.

Tsukune looked at the talisman and pocket it for future use.

Releasing a breath he slid open the door and went inside *Slam* the door shut the moment he fully stepped through and he went ghost by reflex. Tsukune's neon green eyes scanned the door then the environment. The place looked exactly like one would expect from an old abandoned dojo.

 _Dusty, musky, creepy and-_

"State thy name and business?"

- _Haunted_

"AAAHHH!"

Tsukune flew up raising his fist in a clumsy defensive stance to see who spooked him. What he saw was an smaller bald green skinned man _floating_. The man wore a traditional karate gi, his balding head and mustache gave him a wise look. His black eyes bore into Tsukune's soul despite himself, it was like he was a five year old kid being caught by his father.

"Are you here to challenge me boy?"

"I- Uh" he looked around "what?"

The ghost narrowed his eyes causing the boy to become even more nervous. Then without warning the old man flew at him. Tsukune's eyes widened and he instinctively pushed his hands forward and (accidentally) fired two shots of ecto-blasts.

The old man's eyes widened but he deftly dodged them, he then looked at the two scorch marks then at Tsukune whose hands were still blazing. They stared at his hands for a while then locked eyes. The old ghost's eyes narrowed as an embarrassed flush came over Tsukune

"Uh I can explain.."

 _Several Minutes Later_

Tsukune's body slammed into the tatami mat….again. He rolled to the side just as a fist crashed where his head was then launched himself at the old ghost swing a clumsy punch to his head. The old man grabbed his wrist with an almost bored expression and twisted it behind his back.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow" the boy went to his knees.

"What kind of game are you playing boy?"

"Argh!"

"Did you really think you could challenge me with this level of skill?"

Through the pain Tsukune's eyes flashed and he phased through his grip "wha-" was all the old ghost managed to say before he was punched in the face and blasted back.

To Tsukune's shock the ghost didn't go down rather he went into a horse stance as he slid across the floor. Once the blast receded he slowly exhaled and leveled a glare at Tsukune before going into an open palm stance.

"Come"

Tsukune shook his head rapidly "uh-uh"

The ghost narrowed his eyes "if you don't come at me then I will attack you"

"Why are we even fighting!?" he yelled.

The ghost blinked "what?" he then scowled "you came to _my_ dojo and since you're not here as a student then you are here to challenge me"

"Student.." he mumbled

 _Wait a minute._

Seeing that the boy wasn't going to make a move the ghost rushed after him with a punch aimed at his face. At the last nanosecond though, the boy disappeared from his sight

' _Impossible!'_

It happened in slow motion, he was still in the middle of thrusting his fist while his eyes looked down to see the boy, their eyes met and he could see an unwavering fire that was not there before. Then he realized an important fact as his thrust finished

The boy was in a perfect position to counterattack!

The ghost went in for a block when the strangest thing happened

"PLEASE TAKE ME AS YOUR STUDENT!"

The ghost halted his movements to stare at the boy prostrating before him. He blinked slowly for a moment before uttering one word

"What?"

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Annnnd Scene! Not gonna lie I was a little disappointed with how the chapter turned out…and it has nothing to do with you foxchick1. I envisioned so much more for a first meeting with the 'Grandmaster. Speaking of which my introduction of that ghost may be a convenience for Tsukune's situation and downright cliché but eh *shrugs shoulder* what can you do.**

 **Now for anyone who thinks that Tsukune should be jumping into battle just remember that he is** _ **not**_ **Danny first of all and that their first encounters are different. With Danny's encounter the lunch lady was a direct threat to his school who he** _ **had**_ **to stop which he did and gained a victory that made him figure out what he wanted to do with his unwanted powers. Plus it also helped that he had a thermos and a place to store them once he wins.**

 **Tsukune's issue is a bit different, he has no idea how he's going to fight Ruby, he doesn't have a place to keep her and really fighting a girl, an actual human girl is a lot more complicated, witch or not. Unlike Danny he can't just wing it, Tsukune doesn't have a hero complex, he doesn't feel like he's answering a higher calling using his powers to fight a witch and is truly only doing it because Danny urged him and he wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing there might be a chance people could get killed.**

 **And finally Tsukune is, in fact, an indecisive coward.**

 **I mean come on in the manga its obvious he and Moka like each other yet he doesn't say anything because he's afraid of hurting everyone else's feelings? That is cowardice and despite how it gets downplayed in the manga when he took a lesson in badass he** _ **still**_ **doesn't say his true feelings and let the girls practically walk all over him with their enviable/unwanted affections.**

 **I make sure to make it clear in this story although its more justified since he's fourteen and doesn't have a snarky attitude and massive ego that seem to make Danny out to be fearless. In that respect Tsukune is more pragmatic in his approach to a life and death situation than Danny, so if he's going to fight he should learn how.**

 **That's the end of my rant please leave a review of what you think because you might not see me until summer, f*cking finals coming up.**


	5. Trouble In Paradise

**Author's Notes: Warning This Chapter Contains Some Angst And Humor.**

 **Chapter 4: Trouble In Paradise**

Have you ever had any regrets in life?

Tsukune has..a lot as a matter of fact. One time he was 8 he regretted never telling the girl next door about his feelings before she moved, he regretted not taking that random classmate's offer to go to the arcade two years ago and he definitely, really, seriously regretted giving in to peer pressure and walking into the clearly dangerous and unstable offline ghost portal.

There are many others but those are the ones that first came to mind and as Tsukune lay on the ground battered and bruised he found another regret in life. The battle had been fierce, grueling and by far the longest he had ever fought in his life, truly it was-

"-pathetic. Get up Tsukune you didn't even last five minutes" said the voice of the sadistic old ghost who had thus far managed to destroy him in ways he never thought possible.

' _Why on earth did I ask to be his student again?'_

"I'm getting impatient boy" the ghost said with irritation.

' _Maybe if I lay here he'll think I'm unconscious'_

He sneaked a peak to see the ghost drawing his fist back. On reflex Tsukune phased through the floor, narrowly avoiding the hit which would probably cave in his skull. The old man sighed and stood up to look at his _student_.

The very thought made him frown.

If he were to be honest he never thought he would have another student, not since he died and was sealed in this decrepit building by idiotic shamans who thought it was prudent to seal a spirit inside the scene of its own murder.

Back on topic- he looked to see the boy's head rise from the ground below, he gave a sheepish slightly transparent smile.

"You used your powers again"

"You were about to hit me" Tsukune fully rose through the floor in his human form.

"You could have easily rolled out of the way" the old man said dismissively "you rely too much on your ghost half Tsukune"

"But it's not like I'm going to fight Ruby as a human" he looked down as his voice lowered "why can't I train as a ghost anyway?"

Ah yes the witch, his student had told him of the reason why he sought to learn the martial arts. It's been two weeks since then and he could see improvements in him but it was clear that his ghost form showed his best performance. Obviously since despite not changing physically his ghost half is more athletic, durable, stronger and faster than his human half.

It would be so much easier to only train his ghost half, in fact until two days ago that was how he trained.

"What you need to learn, my pupil, is that in order for your muscles to be conditioned you will need to train them as a human. Your ghostly form is too..flexible to have the same results."

Tsukune opened his mouth to protest but then he thought about it and remembered he literally split his body apart at the waist one time they sparred. Also his ghostly body doesn't appear to be limited like his human body. He could do acrobatic flips , 7-10 splits and other feats without any injury. Sure he could feel pain but it would have to come from an outside source.

Nowadays that 'source' was his Sensei.

He sighed "anyway we are finished for the day, it's getting late so you can leave" with that he phased through the ceiling and into the night.

Tsukune would have asked him where he would go after their sessions but honestly with him being a 500 year old spirit in modern civilization asking him where he went would be a really dumb question.

He felt his jaw and knew there would be a visible bruise "aw man" he went ghost and phased out of the building towards his house dreading the family dinner.

Another reason why Tsukune preferred sparring in his ghost form was his ghostly regeneration. Put short he heals really quickly and the superficial damage to his ghost form doesn't carry over to his human form which means he wouldn't have to explain to his parents why he was covered in bruises when he was just going to spend the day with a 'friend'.

Tsukune landed in the corner from his house and transformed back to human before heading inside the house.

He closed the door behind him as quietly as possible and looked around, his mother was in the kitchen and his father was watching TV.

' _So far so good'_ he heads up to his room.

All he needed was a few more minutes in his ghost form to reduce some of the swell-

"Tsuki-chan!"

And his cousin was waiting for him in his room…..again.

At that moment Tsukune made a note to invest in a lock…or an anti Kyouko alarm system since she'd find a way inside his room anyway.

"Kyou-chan" he started with a nervous smile "h-hey, um, why are you here?"

Kyouko raised an eyebrow "what I can't visit my favorite cousin anymore?" she sighed almost dramatically "and to think once upon a time you used to cry because you missed your Kyou-niisan"

Tsukune blinked, he really didn't know if she was telling the truth so he chuckled awkwardly, neither agreeing or disagreeing with her claim. He learned it was the best defense against anything she mentioned at a time where he couldn't remember.

"What happened to your face this time?" her voice was serious and laced with concern.

Now _this_ was the other, _other_ reason why he didn't like taking hits in his human form. Ever since he was little Kyouko had always been like a sister to him rather than a cousin and due to him always being…well weak she was overprotective. He didn't mind it in the least but she had a tendency to overreact to some injuries.

Back when they were in school, a boy pushed him down and spilled his ice-cream. Kyouko heard this and showed up a little later covered in bruises with a brand new ice-cream and got detention for beating up said boy and his friends.

Tsukune sighed- like he said, he didn't mind it but now he's starting to see that it just won't cut it now. He couldn't tell her about his ghost powers…yet, hell he's not even sure she would take the fact that he's learning martial arts well.

"It's nothing" he mumbled.

Kyouko bit her lip _'he's doing it again'_

She could tell when he's lying to her, for some reason he just won't tell her why he comes home nowadays with bruises on his face. At first she'd try to pry the info from the old fashioned way, by pressuring him with her authority as his older sister (figure). It wasn't particularly hard to get information from him, he wasn't strong-willed and it always worked in the past.

That's why it came to a shock when he said he had an accident on the sidewalk _'fell on his face my foot'_

Of course his parents bought it but then again they weren't the most attentive when it came to him. They were still good people but they have a lot to be desired when it comes to raising their son. Anyway she started noticing how he always heads out during the mornings and come back in time for dinner exhausted and sometimes with bruises.

She tried to follow him a few times but he always managed to give her the slip somehow. He was up to something and it was suspicious, she didn't like anything suspicious near her cousin. She wanted to know what was going on, she wanted to help him but he was being stubborn, she'd never seen him so adamant about keeping whatever it is that was happening to him a secret from her.

That could only mean whatever this secret might be was so important that he'd blatantly lie and deny in front of her face. There can only be one reason why that must be- he was in some kind of trouble!

' _Maybe he was being bullied again.'_

' _Or worse he was being extorted by gangsters'_

' _Or even more worse he was being blackmailed by the yakuza into being their gopher'_

' _Or could it be his mother had blown the family's credit on online shopping and had to borrow from a loan shark and it's up to Tsukune to pay off the debt by working odd jobs'_

… _.._

' _Oh no~'_ Tsukune bit back a groan _'she's doing it again'_

Whenever Kyouko was trying to figure out something she would always jump to ridiculous conclusions. Tsukune can't even imagine what ludicrous thing she could think of now.

…

'… _.and being forced to work as their toy'_

"Kyou-chan whatever it is you're thinking it's wrong" he interrupted.

"E-eh?" Kyouko narrowed her eyes "Really?" he nodded "you're not being bullied or extorted?"

"No"

"You aren't being blackmailed by the Yakuza?"

Tsukune gave her an odd look " _no_ "

"You parents didn't sell you into slavery to pay off their debts?"

"…"

"…"

"…what?"

"Is that a yes?" she leans closer.

"No!"

Why would she even think that?

"Did you get that from a manga?"

"…no"

Tsukune sighed "Kyou-chan, I'm not in trouble-"

Not technically

"I'm not being blackmailed"

Not unless you count knowing that people could die unless you risk your life to fight a mythical being as blackmail.

"And my parents didn't sell me into slavery to pay their debts"

' _At least I hope not.'_

Kyouko looked at him skeptically before approaching him and placed a hand on his shoulder then another on one of bruises "then what happened to you?"

Gone was the over the top, devil may care attitude. She wasn't imposing but rather pleading and in that moment it tore at Tsukune to have to lie to her

"I'm….I'm taking martial arts lessons"

-not, he couldn't do it, he just couldn't lie to her. Tsukune still has reservations about telling her about his _other_ secret which he will someday but for now the least he could do is put her mind at ease, he owed her that much.

Kyouko paused _'Tsukune, martial arts? Where did this come from?'_

"Why would you want to learn how to fight!?" she yelled, now back to her usual self "who put you up to this, what happened?"

The more she talked the more it irritated him for some reason. She was always like this, always treated him like a baby, which he was a couple of years ago but he's 14 now and he'll be going to highschool and before he knows it he'll be an adult. When will it ever stop? The constant coddling? The undermining of _his_ actions?

"I'M TIRED OF BEING WEAK!" he yells over her talking.

Kyouko blinked in stunned silence "Ts-Tsukune?"

"Every time you treat me like I'm this…helpless little kid who can't do anything by himself. You never listen to anything I say because you think I'm unreliable! I wanted to do martial arts so I signed up, it was my decision! But you never did respect me so I guess I understand" he stepped aside "Kyouko..just..please leave me alone"

Numbly Kyouko walked out the room and by the time she realized and turned around the door slammed in her face. She stood there for a long while just staring at the door completely flabbergasted at what just happened. Tsukune had never, in all the time she'd known him _ever_ be angry before.

Yes he'd get upset but he would never just snap at her like that. Why did he do it? She was only trying to help. What did he even mean she never respected him?

Kyouko was so confused right now….!

She reached up and felt her cheek, it was wet. She was crying, she can't remember the last time she cried and she never thought she would be crying because of some hurtful words said by Tsukune of all people.

Tsuki-chan, her cousin had just practically rejected her.

She should be angry, she should be banging on the door demanding he open it and apologize but the shock was just too much. The only thing she could say was "you dummy" in a whispered tone before walking away.

\

Tsukune sunk to the floor with his back against the door. A part of him had hoped she would demand he open the door, at least that way he'd know his words didn't affect her that much.

"You idiot" he muttered.

That whole episode was brought on by his training. Tsukune had never particularly cared about getting stronger, even through all the bullying which wasn't much to begin with. He wasn't the only one who got bullied and to be clear it wasn't a problem. Tsukune wasn't super popular nor was he so down the social ladder that he was considered invalid enough to be the target of excessive bullying.

Tsukune was just.. _ **average**_ , he could literally be the poster boy of what an _**average**_ Japanese boy should look, dress and act like. He had no special talents, his family background wasn't anything special and he himself was unremarkable.

Except _now_ he had ghost powers and suddenly he wasn't so _unremarkable_. His powers made him feel…well special yes. In his ghost form he could fly, turn invisible, walk through walls and had super strength. But that was his ghost form, in his human form he was still that plain, unremarkable boy he'd always been.

He realized this when he was practicing in his human form. He also talked about his content life with his sensei who for some reason told him to reflect on it since his seemingly normal home life wasn't as perfect as he thought. He only now understood after Kyouko kept pestering him about his injuries, even though he assured her time and again that there was nothing to worry about.

His parents backed off although his mother was worried (for the wrong reason) and Kyouko just won't take his word for it. He could understand but even after telling her the truth (the part that mattered) what does she do? She freaks out and just assumes he's in some kind of trouble (which he isn't). So he wants to do martial arts, if she can't even see past the image of Tsukune the baby then he's done acting like one.

So he snapped and told her off.

His sensei was right about reflecting on his relationship with his family. His parents were neglectful and Kyouko was overbearing but they both had one thing in common. They didn't respect him very much and after remembering how he acted he could see why. He wouldn't respect himself either.

This revelation wasn't a spur of the moment one either, he discovered it recently after days of pondering and he couldn't believe it but after today he just confirmed it. He still felt bad about what he did to Kyouko but now that it's out there it was necessary. Tsukune had to put his foot down at some point, if not now then it would be somewhere down the line.

Kyouko has to know she won't be able to protect him and for what he's going to get himself into, he needs to be strong. To be honest Tsukune didn't want to actually want to learn martial arts, he wanted to learn how to fight or at least the basics. He figured once he knew how to throw a punch then he his powers would compensate for his lack of proper skill.

Not anymore, this has already evolved way past that. If he survived then he'll continue with Sensei's training, not because of some chauvinistic duty or for anything too selfish like the strength to stand up to others who bully him or even to protect the people closest to him. They aren't in danger, he isn't a superhero and his inevitable fight with Ruby is a onetime thing.

No, it's simply because martial arts made him realize how unsatisfied his life is. He needed to change himself and martial arts helped put him in the right direction so he'll continue and see if he can't turn his life going nowhere around. Hopefully it will be in the right direction and hopefully he'll survive the fight that is to come.

\

For the next two days he hadn't seen much Kyouko and to be honest he was greateful for that fact. He needed to mentally prepare himself and didn't need any distractions right now. Not to say he wouldn't apologize, heck he'll grovel at her feet with chocolates in hand and ask her to forgive him in a _very_ platonic way.

Tsukune walked through the door and closed it behind him _'another day, another way for Sensei to find a new way to humiliate me in a spar'_ he groaned.

How the heck can he pass out from a chokehold when he technically doesn't need to breath in his ghost form? Sensei is just _that_ good.

"Oh Tsukune you're back!" his mother greeted then frowned "are you alright?"

"I'm okay Kaa-san, I'm going to shower and I'll be down" he said not sparing his mother a glance, not out of disrespect but he just had a long day.

Tsukune walked to his room and he heard a faint noise inside. There was only one person who would wait for him inside his room _'Kyou-chan'_ he smiled despite himself.

He could figure out what was about to happen, she would rant, he would apologize, she would chastise and he would have to explain himself. At least, he could buy himself some time until _after_ the fight to tell her…everything.

So it was with this optimism that Tsukune opened the door "Kyou-cha…n…?"

 _She_ froze when he entered the room and it was safe to say that aside from their raven colored hair they had absolutely nothing else in common in terms of appearance. Her long hair almost melded perfectly with the darkness, her wide red eyes and rigid posture were reminiscent of a deer caught in the headlights.

Ruby the Witch stood there, in his room and throughout it all Tsukune only had one thought as he glanced upon her.

' _Why is she holding one of my underwear?'_

 _To Be Continued_

 **Author's Notes: *CRACK* and its out of the park!**

 **Okay so a bit of angst in this chapter but I thought it would have prudent to change some of Tsukune's personality traits a bit and while it may seem sudden just remember he had been training in martial arts for weeks now and Sensei is absolutely brutal and blunt.**

 **To me in the manga it seemed Tsukune's problem was that he was too nice and I hate characters like that, the ones who would go through all the trouble of covering up a problem when they could just as easily say what's going on and get it over with.**

 **Here he is impressionable enough for a bit of Sensei's honest bluntness to rub off on him, after all Tsukune has no friends, his father doesn't make a good role model and his Sensei is the only other male he knew aside from Danny (and I think I've already shown how Danny rubbed off him). So he reflected on his home life and reached an epiphany thanks to him. He needed to change, Sensei so far hasn't steered him wrong so he'll continue the training even after he's fought Ruby.**

 **Speaking of, that last scene and how she ended up in that compromising position will be explained next chapter. Tsukune wasn't the only one affected by their little confrontation and that brings me to another issue. Its going to be a 'Long~ Story'**

 **I have seen a review that really made my mood dampen upon reading it. I would have replied to that person but I feel this is something anyone reading and has a problem with my decisions regarding the romance aspect of this story. First to the reviewer, personally I find your lack of faith in me** _ **very**_ **disturbing because I specifically said that just because Ruby was the first person he met doesn't mean she's a romantic interest.**

 **Seriously what in their interaction so far gave you that idea!? But I can see where you're coming from this is technically a Romance story and she** _ **is**_ **a part of his harem in canon so I don't hold it against you. But know this, I can guarantee that more girls will** _ **probably**_ **show up but that doesn't imply they will be romantic interests, I'm trying to avoid one of the many flag traps.**

 **Not to say they won't have a relationship with him but it won't be like in canon or if they do it would be for actual reasons instead of him just being a generic harem protagonist who gets girls because of…reasons. So any of you who have a problem with Ruby and Tsukune being together at least wait until I actually do something that signifies an intimate relationship between them before denouncing this story because I didn't pick your favorite girl.**

 **And please** _ **don't**_ **make any suggestions I already know what the pairings will be and who will be included in his eventual sorta-harem from the moment I posted the first chapter. It came to me while I was in the bathroom (where all men go to ponder about the big decisions in life) and I'm sticking with it.**

 **As it relates to Ruby as a character, personally I like her but I hated the direction in which the author chose to go with her in canon. I mean adding her to the harem was just a real waste, they could've made her something like a big sister to the group, lord knows they need someone like that. Especially Tsukune who desperately needed a neutral third party to mitigate the chaos.**

 **I mean she's 2-3 years older than him for f**ks sake and screams older sister figure, especially to Yukari but I digress. That's just my view and with that said she will be OOC in this story and when I say that I mean I refuse to make her some shameless, masochistic pervert. I will keep the other aspects of her personality, you know, the ones that made me respect her character before the author went all Otaku and basically said "F*uck it, the only thing we're missing for the harem is masochist so lets make Ruby like that"…. Even though there was nothing to signify that trait prior to that 'whip training session' in Season II.**

 **Please leave a review.**


	6. Dawn of The Witch Hunt

**Chapter 6: Dawn of The Witch Hunt**

He looked at her

She looked at him

His eyes switched to the item in her hand.

She followed his gaze and her face paled before it brightened red.

She dropped the underwear and started shaking her hands frantically "it's not what it looks like!"

She looked at him pleadingly to believe her, this was _not_ the reason why she originally came here. Suddenly he dropped his bag and lunged at her, two white rings passed over him mid lunge and he propelled the entire distance. The move was so fast Ruby only had time to raise her hand defensively before he slammed into her midsection.

"OOF!" the wind was knocked right out of her and she thought she would slam into the wall but instead for a brief moment she felt a tingly sensation.

Ruby saw the wall pass through them, in fact she saw the entire house get further away as he pushed her further in the sky. Gritting her teeth Ruby formed four crow wings that sprouted from her back. She grabbed onto the back of his shirt and flipped him off of her using his own momentum against him.

Ruby righted herself in the air, her wings flapping gently. She saw the boy, snow white air neon green eyes that seem to glow, his skin was paler. The glow from the moonlight gave him an ethereal glow.

Then she saw his hand glow and instantly recognized what he was about to do. She outstretched her palms "wait I mean you no harm!"

It was too late though, with a yell he shot that strange green energy beam from his palm.

This was definitely _not_ what she had in mind when she came to visit him.

\

 _Ruby flew through the air until something caught her at the last minute._

" _Ugh" she groggily uttered standing up._

 _Never in all her life had Ruby been hit like that, she wasn't even sure what hit her. It should have been youki but there was something different about it, similar but it wasn't the natural energy of youkai._

" _What was that?"_

 _Not just that attack but the boy himself. Though she has not left her home much in recent days, she kept herself informed with books, tomes and her mistress' teachings about other youkai. Never in any of her teachings about other species had she ever heard one with a description like this boy._

' _Snow white hair, glowing green eyes, an almost ethereal glow outlining his body, the ability to define gravity without the use of wings or magic and the ability to fire bursts of unknown energy.'_

 _And now she wondered if it was indeed a fluke when those vines went through his ankles._

' _Maybe mistress knows about this type of youkai.'_

 _\_

 _Not even her mistress with a vast amount of knowledge knew what kind of monster that boy was. She sat at the edge of the cliff overlooking the beach, the same place where she had first met him._

 _Where she saw two rings of light, his transformation vaporizing her bond._

 _Up until that point she had been sure he was human. He looked like a human, she didn't sense any unnatural youki from him to suggest he was anything but human and until then she would have killed him because of it._

 _Now she felt ashamed for it._

 _It was one thing to attack a human but another to attack a youkai. Youkai's are in harmony with nature, they live on separate plains from the humans. Much like the Witches of old they were hunted and killed for their differences. In all essence they are allies against the humans_

' _And I went and attack one' her head dropped to her lap "a little boy for that matter!'_

 _He could have been her friend._

 _Being alone here guarding her home with vigilance on a daily basis with no one but her mistress, it wouldn't be hard for a girl to want to socialize with someone her age. You can only go so far fighting a battle with only one other person as company._

\

Ruby maneuvered away from the blasts "I don't want to hurt you!"

Tsukune paused at this, he'd been firing at her for a while now but she'd yet to retaliate, even now when he stopped she was still looking at him, her hands held up in surrender.

He'll play along for now but his hands still held the ecto-energy for a quick blast "what do you want from me?"

"Nothing, I was just…curious" her hands fell to her side.

He looked at her incredulously "what does that mean?"

She attempted to come closer but held his palm out to her "don't come any closer" he said sternly though on the inside he was nervous.

She stopped and continued to observe him "I've never encountered a being like you before"

"Yeah?"

He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing but one thing was for sure, he really didn't like that look in her eyes.

He thought to get straight to the point "how did you find me?"

Ruby seemed to pause and Tsukune could have sworn he saw something flash in her eyes but shook it off as a trick of the light.

"The truth is after you left I didn't think much of our encounter until I met _him_."

"Him?"

She nodded, her expression becoming blank "yes _him_ …"

\

 _Ruby sighed wistfully as she surveyed on what has come to be one of her favorite spots in the entire patch. It was times like this that things would become quite boring._

" _A beautiful night is it not?'_

 _Ruby jolted, whirled around with her wand raised, her wings spread and her wand glowed dangerously red._

' _Someone actually managed to sneak up on me, how!?'_

 _Her shock doubled once she saw standing dangerously close to her previous position with his gaze facing out towards the sea and his hands clasped behind his back, was an old man._

" _Human!" she snarled several vines launched at him._

 _To her shock the old man with an agility and grace that should not be for a man his age deftly dodged her assault and closed the distance faster than she could react. His palm planted in her stomach and she crashed painfully into the old tree, chipping off some bark._

 _With a scowl Ruby raised her wand and the vines erupted from the patch heading towards the perceived human. The old man calmly went into a stance, feet squared apart and knife hands held palm out just above his head._

 _As the creatures charged he dodged swiping at them with his knife hands and much like a blade they cut through the sentient plants with precision. Ruby's shock subsided into blind rage as wings sprouted from her back. The nearby sunflower patch transformed into plant monsters that began attacking._

 _Again the old man deftly dodged their charge by flipping out the away and landed on one of them ripping through its petal head. He worked fast ripping apart the plant creatures with his bare hands until they were nothing but shredded pieces. Releasing a breath he looked to the now floating witch who couldn't help but gape at him._

" _Impossible, y-you're not a normal human.'_

 _The old man fully turned to her "I never at any point said that I was human."_

 _Before she could question him he_ _flew_ _at her. Her reaction was immediate and several vines attempted to wrap around him. To her shock he continued undeterred as the vines went through his body. He delivered a flying kick to her exposed abdomen knocking the wind out of her._

 _Despite herself Ruby found herself plummeting to the sands, while falling the man did multiple rapid kicks before doing a front flip kick to send her body crashing into the sand._

" _Ugh" groaning Ruby looked up just in time to see the old man to land on her with enough force to make her spit saliva and sink further into the beach._

 _The old man floated away from her but not before kicking away her wand._

" _When he told me about you I was expecting..more" the man sounded disappointed._

 _Now that they were away from the cover of darkness she now had a clear of the man, if she could call him that. For one his skin was green and he had some kind of ethereal outline that seemed vaguely familiar._

" _W-what are you?"_

" _I'm a concerned sensei" he replied "my student had made you out to be a very big threat, I wanted to confirm if he could handle you."_

 _Ruby managed to roll to her stomach "what are you talking about? Who said I was a threat."_

" _That is none of your concern, not anymore" with that he disappeared from her sight._

" _Wait!" she clutched her ribs "ow."_

 _It was too late, he was already gone._

\

' _Sensei!?'_

"When did that happen?"

"Last week" she answered "you know that person do you not?"

Tsukune's mouth kept shut.

"There's no need to deny it, after all despite the differences it's not every day I meet two of your kind."

"M-my kind?"

"Yes, your kind."

*Gasp*

Green smoke escaped his mouth.

Her face twisted in a horrible amalgamation of a smile " **SPIRIT!** "

Before he could react something hit him from the back and his vision burst into white as pain laced his body. He gave out a blood curdling scream as whatever counts for his blood started to boil. After eight grueling seconds he fell to street level, though he managed to slow his descent but gave out at the last minute and he hit the pavement hard.

He turned to his human form and with bleary eyes he looked forward, his eyes widened a little but he didn't have the energy to speak.

' _Kyo…chan…'_

"I'm sorry Tsukune, I know it hurts" he felt himself being lifted up "but I will help you, I swear, so just wait a little longer, by the time you wake up, you'll be free."

The last thing he saw before he went unconscious were the red eyes of a clearly insane witch.

\

Widen brown eyes watched as they left in a mixture of shock, panic and confusion.

Kyouko still couldn't wrap her head around what she had seen. First she saw _something_ suspicious fly through the window of Tsukune's room. Then she saw two (through binoculars) a floating boy in a black and white jumpsuit along with a girl with wings.

" _Suspicious!"_

Her first instinct was to call for help but then she realized how crazy that sounded and there was still the matter of her cousin, whom she saw enter the house. It was for that reason why she came down in the first place when the white hair boy landed. He wrighted in pain for a few moments until a wash of light temporarily blinded her and revealed

' _Tsukune!?'_

Finally snapping out of it with a shake of her head she didn't even bother weighing her options before hopping the Aono's fence and taking Tsukune's recently neglected bicycle to follow after them. Despite their recent fall out he was still her cousin, her family, practically a younger brother dammit!

She was into about to lose her family…not again.

Keeping up with that, that _witch_ was easier said than done and more than a few times Kyoko almost lost her. She fell off the bicycle twice getting a few cuts and bruises but her pigheaded, stubbornness and drive caused her not to falter. By the time the kidnapper landed at where she dubbed her 'lair' Kyouko was a messy panting mess.

She ditched her vehicle and ran into the sunflower patch, only stopping at the sign "Witches Knoll?"

Could it be?

Nah they wouldn't be that obvious plus she didn't have green skin or rode a broom.

\

Tsukune shuddered, though his body felt like it was a pin cushion for a thousand needles yet he couldn't help but shudder.

' _What happened?'_

"That's not it"

The voice mumbled and Tsukune's eyes looked around to see another person with their backs turned. He blinked a couple times to clear his vision noticing how he couldn't move his arms or much of his body. He looked down to see that he was strapped to a table with chains, there were also paper seals stuck to the chains and candles at four corners.

"Oh you're awake"

His eyes went to the girl who was smiling at him and if it were in another situation he would have been a little captivated. Considering he was tied to a table at an unknown location with a certifiable witch Tsukune was a little scared.

"Wh-where am I?"

"Don't worry, you're in my master's home, she's going to fix you."

"What?"

Tsukune didn't want to know what she meant by 'fix' and so tried to transform, except nothing happened.

"Why can't I go ghost?"

*Gasp*

"Don't bother, those seals are meant to repel all spirits"

The image of the seals attached to the dojo came to mind.

"What do you want from me?"

"I want to help you."

"W-what are you talking about?"

Ruby turned around going back to the table as she spoke "at first I thought you were a human that's why I attacked you" she gave him a sheepish expression "sorry. Anyway I was obviously mistaken when you transformed."

She paused "or so I thought but then when I started following you" Tsukune flinched "and after I found out your identity I noticed something. You weren't wearing a human disguise and you weren't using some kind of possession. Between your transformations it's like you assume a completely separate identity."

Her expression became one of sympathy "you poor boy, it must be hard."

' _What the heck is she talking about?'_

"Being stuck like this. Halfway between being a full ghost and a _human_ " the way her mouth twisted into a snarl at the last word made Tsukune sweat a little.

Then just as quickly she smiled "well don't you worry, I plan to fix this and when I'm done" she leaned in closer "you'll be whole again."

Tsukune squirmed, trying to fight through his bonds.

"Don't try and struggle, I-"

" _KYAAA!"_

At the sound Tsukune's veins turned to ice, his eyes widened _'no'_

Ruby's eyes narrowed, a scowl marred her features "excuse me for a moment" she went outside leaving the vehemently struggling youth.

"Don't hurt her!"

Ruby paused, a conflicted look on her face. it was only there for a moment until it melted into a sneer.

*Gasp*

"I don't think you should be mistaking your position here Tsukune" a chill crept up his spine, her voice set him on edge.

Something was wrong.

"You are very loyal to those _humans_ " she spat "but after I help complete your metamorphosis" her face twisted in a parody of a smile "you loyalties will belong only to me" her face then brightened and she continued with a cheery disposition "so don't worry too much okay?"

With those words she left but if it wasn't to him before it was now. That girl is one crazy a** _witch_.

' _What did I get myself into?'_

\

In hindsight Kyouko should've expected something along the lines of this when she entered the lair of a mysterious flying girl whose lair is called Witches Knoll. Still she would have never thought GIANT PLANT MONSTERS so the scream that tore through her mouth the creature lunged at her was understandable.

After that it was darkness.

Meanwhile Ruby watched on in satisfaction as the Garigarious ate the screaming girl. She nodded to herself with a smile before turning away.

Only to freeze when the plant monster gave a bellowing howl before exploding in a mass of gore. Ruby stared wide eyed as the human(?) girl stood and wiped the slime off her hands.

 _"Not what I'm used to but this will have to do"_ the as of yet unidentified girl spoke.

Ruby took a moment to observe the girl who looked to be the same age as herself. She didn't look to be in any kind of panic, in fact despite another Garigarious taking the former's place she seemed more preoccupied with getting the green-blood off of her.

Then her eyes turned to her and Ruby saw them shimmering with an unnatural glow.

Ruby pointed her wand at her "attack!"

To her bafflement the closed her eyes and clasped her hands. That is, until the various plants burst from the ground. Her eyes snapped open at the last minute as she deftly avoided the vines before doing a backflip kick that ripped the head off the monster.

 _'She's not an ordinary human'_

Changing tactics, polyps were shot out, transforming into diving plant creatures.

She deflected two and did a roundhouse kick followed by a high kick. The first two creatures were cut in half while the latter exploded on impact. Yet still more came causing the girl to do several cartwheels before jumping out of the way entirely.

Ruby sprung her trap the moment she knew where the girl would land and several plant monsters sprung out of the ground. She landed on one, feet first, somehow using her weight to crush it. A decapitating side kick followed by a backflip that turned to a roundhouse kick dispatched two more creatures. She grabbed one by the bottom jaw and ripped it off before using the teeth attached to cut the top half off of another.

Something caught her by the waist pushing her forward. She used the momentum to deliver a chop that split a plant creature's head down the middle. Throwing herself back kicking another plant creature in the process, she did a handstand and spun to rip its head off before narrowly dodging a lunge.

She then used knife hands to dispatch the rest finishing with a roundhouse kick that turned into a stomp which crushed the creature.

All of this took less than a minute and Ruby would've been dumbstruck if only she hadn't been hit with a strange sense of déjà vu. As the girl went into a stance the young Witch could see the image of the ghostly old man mimicking her stance just behind her.

Ruby's eyes narrowed and her staff glowed, the girl's expression as mirrored. That is, until twin vines wrapped around each of her ankles before yanking back. She was thrown forward then pulled up by the vines. It swung her around like a rope before smashing her into the ground. She waited with bated breath for the smoke to clear and when it did she panicked.

She was gone!

\

Tsukune had been struggling to get out to no avail.

*Gasp*

"It seems you are in need of assistance"

He jolted at the voice that was unmistakably "Kyo-chan?"

The girl walked out of the shadows, her expression in blank sternness _"no I am not your cousin" she sighed "I taught you better than this Tsukune."_

"… _Sensei?_ "

"Why do you look like Kyouko?"

" _I saw a moment of opportunity and took control of her"_

"You possessed her!"

Kyouko's face wrinkled _"I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I am not using her body for any nefarious purposes, in fact I am fulfilling her desire to save you. Think of it as me overseeing her actions and guiding her from the shadows."_

"…so you're overshadowing her?"

" _Correct"_ he reached for the ropes tagged with seals and recoiled as if burnt.

"What?"

" _Seals, I thought I would have been able to bypass them using your cousins body but they are thorough."_

"So now what?"

" _I'll have Kyouko free you and 'overshadow' her again to escape"_ he said this while going out of Tsukune's line of sight.

He came back with a ceremonial dagger of some sorts "is this a good idea? She might freak out and Kyo-chan doesn't really listen when she does that."

Not that she listens to him in the first place anyway.

" _I'll be right here"_ with that Kyouko's body glowed faintly as he left and she stumbled with a groan.

"What…" she trailed off, immediately noticing Tsukune's bound form "happened" she eyed the knife then the creepy old man floating beside her before screaming in panic.

Except the only thing that was heard was a muffled noise too low to make it out of the room. Before she struggled the ghost spoke "listen to me girl, do not make a sound, do not ask any questions. Use the knife to cut Tsukune loose so that you can get out of here. Nod if you understand" she did after a long moment of hesitation.

While Kyouko went to work his sensei addressed him "she might be getting suspicious by now. I should go out and distract her"

"Something is not right with her"

His sensei gave him a deadpan expression and answered in his driest voice "I hadn't noticed"

Kyouko finally got the ropes undone and he got up "no I mean my ghost sense goes off every time *gasp* she's here"

Everyone turned to find a very furious witch. Immediately Tsukune transformed and Sensei overshadowed Kyouko. They both got into identical battle stances

"Possession" she snarled "I should've known" her wand started glowing.

" _Move!"_ 'Kyouko' shouted.

*BOOM*

The wall was blasted away and two figures darted out of the smoke "get Kyouko out of here"

"You aren't going anywhere!"

Suddenly a humanoid plant creature started crawling out of the ground.

"What the heck is that!?"

It looked like a giant lizard made out of plant matter with one red orb for an eye.

"It's a Hanabake" Ruby took to the skies "I wanted to wait a while longer to do this but this is a good opportunity to analyze its combat abilities"

"…you have got to be kidding me" his fists glowed green.

" _Remember when you said something wasn't right with her?"_ Sensei interrupted.

"Yeah"

" _I believe you"_ she looked at him _"so what is your plan?"_

Before Tsukune could answer the creature attacked with a speed that made Tsukune hesitant, luckily Kyouko grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out the way.

" _I'll fight it, you go after her"_

"But Kyouko-"

Sensei gave him a rather cocky smile that showed more of his cousin than not _"she is stronger than you think Tsukune"_ with that he engaged the Hanabake.

Tsukune however flew straight to Ruby shooting down all the vines and weaving through any of the others. In a panic Ruby pointed her wand at him and another Hakabane materialized and leapt at him. Tsukune cocked his fist back and the Hakabane leapt right through him

' _Impossible'_ Ruby thought

' _If I'm right about this'_ Tsukune thought before his fist connected with her cheek.

Instead of a usual collision, something interesting happened. Tsukune's fist went through her face and hit something else. That something flew right out of Ruby's body at the same time Tsukune's fist did. Ruby eyes glazed a little and with a moan she fell only to be caught by Tsukune who glared ahead.

"I knew something was wrong" he growled "who are you?"

The young Witch opened her eyes to look at the floating figure before them and with the last vestige of consciousness muttered one word.

"Mas…ter…?"

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: "What a Twist!"** _ **– M. Night Shymalan.**_

 **I don't know the name of Ruby's master at the moment of writing this so bear with it. As much as I know how inferior the anime is to the manga I took a little inspiration from it this time around. With how literally insane Ruby was I thought she was possessed by the memory of her master. In this sense I made it literal.**

 **I am also working on a Rosario Vampire original story that is looking pretty good, in my head anyway. Always had a problem putting my more epic ideas in writing and that's what I've been doing this whole time, writing new stories. One of them happens to be Rosario Vampire and I've gotten the first chapter down. For those interested I'll give you the cliff notes:**

 **-Monsters were revealed earlier and humans have since adapted to their presence.**

 **-Akasha is alive**

 **-Oh and Tsukune is an alien hybrid and his father is basically Superman from the Man Of Steel movie.**

 **And with that I leave the rest to your imagination.**

 **Or you know, you could just through a PM if you're really curious. I'm not gonna lie I might need a second opinion on this one.**

 _ **Next Time**_

The silence was deafening as they all sat in the room. The silence finally broke when Tsukune cough gaining the older girls' attention.

"…so, why _were_ you going through my underwear drawer?"

"WHAT!?"

"…"

 _You better watch out_

 _You better go hide_

 _You better lock your drawers I'm telling you why_

 _Ruby-clause is coming for them~_


	7. The Battle Of Witch's Knoll

**Chapter 7: The Battle Of Witch's Knoll**

The air was cool, the streets were alive with lights from the street as people milled about at the hour. All of this was observed by a lone figure perched at the edge of the roof of a three storey building. Clad in a black and blue hoodie, faded ripped jeans and white sneakers the figure had a leg up resting his hand on his knee while the other leg dangled over the edge. His head bobbed lightly to the sound of music blared through the speakers of the headphones resting around his neck even as he took a bite of a half finished popsicle.

"Hmm" he hummed with his eyes closed while enjoying the flavor.

Soon his eyes snapped open, cold as the treat in his hand and just as blue yet revealing a curiosity that has been piqued. The song abruptly stopped as he regarded something too far to be seen, his ears wiggled a little and finally his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"What the…" he trailed then his eyes widened before settling normally.

His attention redirected to a smart phone to see the time, '8:57 PM' it said.

"Hm" he looked back before making a decision, stuffing the rest of the Popsicle in his mouth he stood dusting his pants back.

Putting away his phone he took out the blue stained wood from his mouth and blew out a literal wisp of cold air.

"Looks like it's going to be one of _those_ days" he said looking the sky which showed a partially covered full moon.

\

What was he expecting when he fished the ghost from the girl? Well to be honest Tsukune wasn't thinking so much as he just… _went with it_ though he would assume the fight to go a little smoother since obviously the ghost was in possession of Ruby because she was a witch right? There was no other reasonable explanation as to why she would possess the girl other than for her magic, right? So with that in mind getting her out of her source of power should have made the fight go in his favor, right?

Wrong.

*ZAP*

So very, _horribly_ _**wrong**_.

"We need to do something" a disheveled glowing eyed Kyouko said.

"We should stick to the plan" Tsukune said absentmindedly while firing off more ectoblasts.

"What plan? We've done nothing but destroy these things to no effect."

"And we're still _alive_ "

If he had a working respiratory system Tsukune is pretty sure he would be panting right now, as it stood he just felt tired while zipping through the night sky shooting away at the tangle of vines and vine-monsters gunning for him and his possessed cousin. A valiant effort, between his ecto-blasts and his sensei's skills they probably cut a swath through the entire field by now.

It made absolutely no difference and while they were getting weary, the number of plant warriors had increased with no sign of stopping. To make matters worse, the quality of the plants summoned took on a _ghostly_ element as they glowed slightly. Tsukune didn't get the point at first but that was before he tried going intangible and got smacked around anyway.

It didn't help that the ghostly woman was practically encased in the stuff, creating an impenetrable barrier of vines.

 _'Wait, where is she!?'_

She was gone but whe-

*Gasp*

In his bewilderment Tsukune made the mistake of stopping, he paid for it immediately. The ghost appeared before him, her staff extended and before Tsukune knew it, he had been hit by something.

His joints locked up in pain and a blood curdling scream tore from his throat. Through his hazy pained mind he recognized what was happening, already the urge to revert to his human state came over him.

 _"Your struggles are futile"_ she spoke.

"TSUKUNE!" He heard his cousin's voice scream.

His own voice became hoarse and with another exhale the white rings washed over him, returning him to normal.

The ghost woman grinned _"now you are mine"_

"No!" 'Kyouko rushed through the horde towards the boy hanging limply in a tangle of vines.

She didn't get far before being overwhelmed by the mere force of the plant creatures. The overshadowed teen ended up being tangled spread eagle by several vines that coiled around places that, if he were a girl would have made it an embarrassing experience. As it stood it was just uncomfortable and painful.

The woman turned to the girl _"As for you, I have no need for a_ _ **human**_ _"_ she spat and the tendrils began trying to pull her apart.

That is until a voice interrupted "m-master?"

Momentarily losing concentration the ghostly Witch turned to the source of the sound. Wide red eyes stared in disbelief at the figure floating.

"Ah, my apprentice"

Ruby Tojo stared wide eyed at the floating entity that was her master who looked exactly as she remembered except this...person had sickly looking green skin and seemed to be outlined in an ethereal glow reminiscent of...

 _'That boy'_ she saw the limp body of the boy being suspended by the vines.

"W-whats going on?" she held her head, recent memories were fuzzy.

"Nothing you need to worry about Ruby" the woman answered "I was only getting rid of the trash" she glared at the pair.

Ruby looked at them as well, she knew the boy but had no idea about the girl _'how did I get here'_ she held her head trying to draw something from her memories but ultimately came up mostly blank with some vague recollection.

She shook her head to dispel those thoughts as she gazed upon her mentor. Another important question "what happened to you?"

This was not the woman she had known her entire life, it looks as if-

"She's a ghost!"

Red eyes looked into brown as Tsukune panted and continued "she was possessing your body until I pushed her ou-UURGH!" he wheezed as the vines tightened around him.

"Silence!"

"I-it can't be" Ruby stared wide eyed at her Mistress"

"It's true" Kyouko spoke then grunted "she's…a malevolent spirit… that has been feeding off of your life…force…" that was all she said as the vines wrapped around their mouth.

"Don't listen to them Ruby"

But the damage was already done _'a malevolent spirit'_ she repeated.

"Agh!" a flare of pain shot through her mind.

 _A younger Ruby stood before her frail mistress, her body looked withered and her breaths came in weezes until…nothing._

' _I remember'_ she looked upon her mentor or rather the ghost of her mentor _'mistress is dead'_

She remembered it, she remembered her frail mentor who had been confined to a chair for weeks on end due to illness. They couldn't find any magical solutions for her illness and without a cure she became weaker until finally succumbing to it.

The look of realization told the ghost witch all she needed to know "Ruby…"

A chill went down said girl's spine, no the temperature was somehow colder. Both girls looked around as a fog rolled around, slowly at first but it became thicker with time and the temperature dropped to the point where Ruby could see her breath.

"What is this?" the elder witch said looking around.

*Woosh*

*Splat*

Two heads spun around just in time to see a group of the plant warriors explode in a mess of gore, they did not regenerate. Before she could so much as say a word about all around them similar things began to occur and the fog got thick to the point where it was getting hard to see.

"Show yourself!" the Witch screamed.

*Woosh*

She saw something sail through the air in her direction, instinctively she covered her face and heard several thunks. When the vines receded she saw what hit her and she couldn't believe it, they were kunai knives…made of pure ice.

"No"

*Growl*

Her gaze snapped to the side and the last thing she saw was claws and she was knocked out of the sky like a comet.

To Tsukune and the possessed Kyouko she simply disappeared from sight _'what was that?'_

"Master-ahh!" Ruby was the second one to vanish.

A moment later Tsukune felt his bonds become loose but before he could gain his bearings he was swept away so fast he didn't even realize he moved from the spot until he was unceremoniously dumped on the ground.

"Ow~"

Feeling disoriented and a little nauseous he didn't get up immediately, rather he rolled onto his back "what hit me?"

"Sorry about the rough treatment"

That…that was not Kyouko's voice nor his sensei's or even Ruby's for that matter. Not unless Sensei lost his dialect and the girls suddenly developed a man's voice. So looking around for the owner to which Tsukune guessed was a man but imagine his surprise when instead of a man he saw his possessed cousin being laid down by a giant anthropomorphic wolf.

The wolf gave him a nod "sup?"

…so it finally happened then? He didn't think it would be so soon and he thought being exposed to a pair of witches, one who just so happens to be a ghost it wouldn't happen but it did.

Yep no doubt about it.

' _I have officially lost my mind'_

Kyouko sat up looked at the wolf then Tsukune and then the fog covered garden "are you the one responsible for that?"

Unbelievably the wolfman spoke in a laid back tone "yeah, I spied a little of your fight before and from experience I know that plants don't work very well under too cold conditions"

"I see"

How could Sensei not be the least bit perturbed by a talking wolfman!?

' _Because he's a 100 year old ghost in the body of a 17 year old girl?'_

…oh.

Tsukune finally stood and regarded the wolfman warily. Crystal blue eyes regarded him with an aloofness that was different from what he saw when he was looking at Kyouko.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just a little tired" Tsukune couldn't help answer.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, why?"

"You're acting like you've never seen an Ice Wolf before?"

"Um…actually no I haven't" he said honestly with a helpless shrug.

"Oh?"

"What is an Ice Wolf?" Sensei couldn't help but ask.

"A Werewolf and Yuki Onna hybrid."

Three heads turned to see Ruby sitting in a corner hugging herself not staring at anything in particular. Tsukune didn't have any particular experience with trauma but even he could see that the expression on her face was of someone whose world had just crumbled around them.

"Ruby…"

The girl jumped a little at the unexpected shout, she didn't expect that nor did she expect the concerned look but whatever he was about to say got caught and he could only mouth something before going tight lipped. Ruby stared for a while before she hugged her knees and stared at the ground with a far-off look.

Tsukune looked to his other compatriots with a helpless look that screamed _'what do I do?'_

"We cannot defeat the ghost without her help" he advised through Kyouko.

Another look at the slightly rocking girl had him wince "I don't think that's a good idea" he mumbled.

' _Besides he can keep the temperature low enough we might have a chance.'_

"I don't think we have a choice" the cool response had them look to the Ice Wolf who looked off in the distance.

All around the sunflower patch scores of Hanabakes emerged from the soil and started converging to a point. There was a bright flash of light followed by the emergence of what they could only describe as a giant plant monster easily surpassing ten stories in height with four arms and multiple giant Hakabane heads sprouting from its shoulders and torso.

The collassal beast roared but it was the witch's voice that was heard " **HAHAHAHA, WITH THIS POWER, I WILL WIPE OUT THE ENTIRE CITY. HUMANITY THE STAIN OF NATURE CAN ALL GO DIE!"**

And to his horror she started making a b-line to the city at a slow pace.

Tsukune spread his arms out "…now what?"

"N-no…" the sound made them turn to see Ruby stagger towards the edge with tears brimming at the corner of her eyes "why…master why did you use that spell?"

"Ruby" Tsukune shook her "what just happened, how is she like… _that_?"

With tears trailing from her eyes she glanced at the woman formerly known as her master "i-it's a sacrificial spell the Youmagahshin. It allows the caster to fuse their body with other organisms and take on their properties."

Sweat pooled around Tsukune as he looked at monster gaining a ghostly quality "how do we stop it?"

At this point Tsukune was the only thing keeping her upright "i-it c-cant be undone once casted, the user is permanently combined with whatever they fused with."

"There has to be a way!" Tsukune pleaded looking directly into her eyes.

"I-no…unless" she looked to the side at her wand "the wand…our magic is disrupted if our wands are destroyed."

"Will that work?" Sensei asked but got a reply from the Ice-wolf.

He was answered by the Ice wolf "it's all we have to go on" he looked up "we'll have to hurry, we're losing moonlight."

Tsukune nodded "alright, stay here"

He didn't get the chance to fully turn as a hand clamped on his shoulder "you can't beat her, you'll die"

"Maybe" Tsukune swallowed "but there's no way I can just stand by and watch" he turned to Sensei "stay here Sensei, I don't want Kyouko to get hurt."

Sensei looked conflicted for a while before 'she' dropped to her knees in a Seiza position "very well"

"All we have to do is destroy her wand?" Tsukune asked to confirm.

"Master uses her tome as a conduit though" Ruby muttered.

"Good to know" he nodded and turned to the odd one out of the four "are you going to help me?"

The wolf looked at him blankly before shrugging "sure why not, I like humans"

Somehow those words filled Tsukune with hope _'at least monsters aren't like them'_

Maybe, it could be species thing, witches hate humans but Ice wolves don't.

He shook his head and looked off into the distance, at their target and with a flash of white rings Tsukune transformed gaining a surprised look from the hybrid youkai _'huh, never seen that before'_

"Let's go" with those words they were off, Tsukune flying off at the speed of a race car and the Ice wolf seemingly blitzing off in a burst of frost.

There was a moment of silence before the elderly ghost came out of Kyouko's body and caught her before she could fall.

"If they manage to destroy her tome what would happen?"

"T-the transformation will be reversed because the conduit allwing her magic would cease to exist but since _she_ is part of the magic the backlash could be…fatal" she swallowed thickly.

Sensei held Kyouko bridal style as he regarded the girl "but she is already dead, so it wouldn't necessarily destroy" he reminded.

Ruby flinched "y-yes" she honestly didn't want to think about that right now.

"In the likely case that she is not destroyed you will have to deal with her"

"M-me?"

"Yes, you are the only one here prepared to deal with a ghost" she bit her lip in indecision "I-I"

"That woman, whoever she was to you is dead" he interrupted bluntly "she has died a long time ago and the only thing that is left is her grudge against humanity. An obsession so deep that it prevented her from moving on into the afterlife and turned her into nothing more than a malignant spirit"

He looked out onto the ongoing battle where ectoblasts and ice shards were being thrown around "are you willing to leave her like this?"

The mist was especially thick around that area and he could see the creatures have slowed considerably. Ruby could see the madness in her former master's eyes and it brought tears to her eyes that the woman who had mentored her for most of her life had been reduced to this. With a solemn nod her eyes hardened despite the tears and six crow wings unfurled from her back.

\

Both men shot off with the ice wolf clearing the distance faster and get its attention first. With surprising speed the ghost witch smashed the ground with him seemingly under it. A green light alerted her to Tsukune charging two orbs of ecto-energy before tossing them directly at her. Two thick viney hands were raised to block the explosive power successfully but it distracted her long enough for the ice wolf to appear before her and strike at her.

Suddenly he slowed at the last minute and it threw off his trajectory and instead of hitting the tome he slashed half her face off. For a moment both the wolf and Tsukune's eyes widened in horror. Then several vines pierced under his skin, effectively ruining the moment as the ice wolf howled in pain.

"No!" Tsukune yelled but had to dodge a swat from the massive hand.

She licked her lips staring at the trapped wolf **"I have you now. Give me your power"**

"Gah!" he yelped but continued to struggle "ugh…be careful…argh…what you…nngh…wish for" his eyes flashed arctic blue as those words escaped his lips and the air chilled.

The vines in his skin flash froze solid and he flexed easily freeing himself. Immediately he launched several thick ice shards aimed it at the witch and her tome that fired from his claws like a semi-automatic rifle. Unfortunately the mouth she resided in abruptly closed shielding her but the areas they hit started icing over until it was shut.

Before the witch could properly mitigate the damage Tsukune phased through several vines holding a beach ball sized orb of ecto-energy that he drove through the closed mouth. There was a giant green blast followed by a bigger flash that engulfed the entire sunflower patch.

\

Ice blue eyes fluttered open to a clouded moon, his hands came to his head and he sat up with a groan _'I managed to keep my transformation going'_ he thought getting to his feet to survey his surroundings.

The magical backlash for all its worth didn't do _that_ much damage. He sniffed the air getting a scent and followed it towards the mysterious youkai he allied himself with. The boy in question floated above the clearing observing the damage done, or was he looking for him? His question was answered when the boy spotted him and flew towards him.

"You're okay" he looked relieved.

"Are you?" he had to ask because the boy didn't _look_ okay. His white hair was slightly dirtied, his jumpsuit a little scorched, not to mention he looked positively drained.

"Yeah, just a little tired" he unknowingly confirmed

The ice wolf nodded and looked around "do you think she's dead?"

The boy also looked around "I think-Gasp!"

The green mist hadn't even completely dissipated before the ice wolf shoved the boy out of the way, he was already out of the way by the time a thorny vine sprung from the earth.

' _What now?'_ he thought as a moment later the witch _appeared_ out of nowhere _'how?'_

"You stupid brats" the witch snarled, an ethereal glow about her "you may have destroyed my tome but in my current state" she smiled "I don't need it"

As she said this more ethereal vines erupted from the earth _'how is she doing this? I can't sense any youki…it almost feels like'_ his eyes flickered to the white haired boy.

Tsukune met his eyes and nodded a bit before going into a fighting stance. He returned a nod and also went into a stance, crouching low. Whatever he thought of the situation was pushed back as the vines converged on them. While his ally took to the sky he disappeared from sight, circled around her flank and prepared to stab her heart.

As it was going at full speed during a full moon, time seemed to slow as he approached and drove his claws fort in a knife hand. _Something_ happened to her body and before he comprehend what that something was he slipped _through_ her body. He only had time to widen his eyes slightly in shock before reorienting himself midair to avoid being caught.

Luckily his ally kept her attention away for him to recover with a well placed swoop attack. Again he didn't let the distraction go to waste tried a sliding kick that swept her off her feet. His ally swooped down again driving her body into the ground with a double fisted meteor strike. He moved out the way the wolf took to the sky and let it rain ice shards, unfortunately she flew away before they hit.

A flick of her wrist had a thick plant smack the boy away before he could strike with another swoop attack but it left her momentarily open for him to slash across her back. She screamed in outrage before sending more vines after him on all sides. They froze mid strike and he effortlessly smashed them apart and rushed the witch only to be yanked back by a vine attached to his leg.

The wolf was smashed into the ground and tossed away with his body skipping across the ground.

"Ow~"

His white fur dirtied now he got in all fours in time to see his ally blindside the witch with a green blast until she flew away. He stood up again to go assist but paused when the witch began contorting in pain, Ruby along with a…flying old man.

"…huh"

Anyway he watched as Ruby did something, most likely a spell, which caused the elder witch scream in agony. Once she saw Ruby her agonized scream turned to one of betrayal until in a fascinated twist her body began to get sucked into a small container. Afterwards the girl seemed to have some kind of emotional breakdown right before his eyes.

If he were to be honest he felt a little bad for her, obviously they were close. Enough for the older witch to spare her from what he saw when he first came onto the scene. Speaking of which-

' _How long have I been here?'_

He looked at his watch, durable and made from an elastic material so as not to break if he were to transform.

The time read _10:14_

That's an hour and fourteen minutes past the time he was _supposed_ to return home.

' _Crap'_

His parents were going to kill him.

\

The adrenaline had only just begun to leave his system which unfortunately meant that the fatigue was setting in. He didn't know if his transformation worked like in the anime and took up stamina or maybe the events of the night has finally caught up to him. Even counting the training for this day it was the most physically demanding day of his life.

' _How am I still awake?'_ a yawn escaped his lips.

"You should go home"

He wanted to agree with those words but one look at the weary, tear stained cheeks of the one who spoke had him hold his tongue.

"Are you going to be alright?"

She gave him a tired smile and held up the bottle with her master sealed inside "I need to find somewhere to put this and rebuild "

The last words had Tsukune gaze around before wincing "I'm sorry"

"It is not your fault Tsukune, this…this was a losing battle in the first place" she scoffed "my master thought she would be able to fight it like death but it's inevitable."

"What are you saying?" Tsukune was a little loss about what the 'it' was in this conversation.

She took a shuddering breath "I'm saying I can't continue what my master started, fighting a one woman war against humanity. It will only lead to what you see around us, destruction."

Even Tsukune understood the implications and while he was glad he wouldn't have to worry about her he remembered that they were only trying to protect their home, as misguided as they were.

"What's going to happen to this place?"

"There are a number of spells I know of that could be used to influence the mind and deter others from this place. It is what witches did and still do to remain hidden from the public. I don't have to literally fight off every human that comes across this place. Master knew of such spells but she chose to fight, she let the anger consume her and even after she died, she never stopped" she shook her head "I can't do that Tsukune I won't let it consume me like it did her"

"Ruby-"

"I'm tired" she said warily "it's late and I want to sleep."

He bit his lip and nodded "alright um, I have to pick up Kyouko" he trailed off a little, Ruby's expression made him uncomfortable, it was like looking into the eyes of a middle aged person whose overworked themselves.

The two teens flew towards the gothic house, both were exhausted physically and emotionally. They didn't expect to hear a scream coming from said house.

"Kyouko!" Tsukune blasted off with Ruby not far behind.

He flew through the door ready to defend his cousin only to duck as book came sailing overhead and hit the spot where Ruby appeared a second later.

"What is going on?"

"Uh…" Tsukune could only stare dumbfounded at the site. Sensei was standing-well _floating_ in the room with a patient expression as Kyouko continued to scream and throw whatever was available at him, not seeming to notice that every object thrown passed harmlessly through him.

"Kyouko stop!"

The teen froze with a wooden chair above her head and stared, along with the old ghost there was another one with white hair, emerald eyes, pale skin.

"W-who are you?"

Tsukune took a deep breath "Sensei could you"

The old man looked between the cousins before nodding "I will trust you to handle this" then the old ghost disappeared leaving the three teens by themselves.

Ruby chose to remain on the sidelines while Tsukune floated to his fearful cousin and in a flash of twin rings reverted to his human form. If he was tired in his ghost form then right now he was a few breaths away from collapsing.

"Tsuki?"

"Yeah" he breathed out "hey Kyo-chaAGH!"

"You're okay!"

Tsukune frankly didn't have the energy to push her off of him, as a matter of fact he could sleep nuzzled up to her developing chest pillows like this.

"I thought that girl did something to you"

Okay now he was awake again "how did you get here?"

"I saw when you were getting kidnapped by" she paused as her gaze lingered behind him.

Uh-oh

"YOU!" she twisted their bodies so that her younger sibling was behind her.

Ruby shuffled nervously under the intense protective glare the human sent her.

"Kyo-chan"

"Stay back Tsukune!"

"I don't mean you any harm" Ruby said holding up her hand which also happened to have her staff.

"Like I'm going to believe that!" she snarled "you beat up and kidnapped my cousin!"

Ruby winced at that, she could say she was possessed but in all honesty the lines blurred for _that_ particular decision.

"I can explain-"

"I don't want to hear it" Kyouko snapped "just leave alone you freak"

"Kyouko!"

"What!?" she spun on her cousin but froze when neon green eyes glared back at her.

"Hear her out."

That wasn't a suggestion and Kyouko swallowed then turned back to the witch "okay I want an explanation from _both_ of you" she gave her cousin a meaningful look and he nodded.

Ruby led them to a living room of sorts and for the next hour they started explaining. Tsukune spilled everything from when he and Danny entered the portal to practicing his ghost powers, accidentally discovering Witch's Knoll, blasting Ruby, discovering Sensei up until when he discovered Ruby in his room and attacking her.

The silence was deafening as they all sat in the room. The silence finally broke when Tsukune cough gaining the older girls' attention.

"…so, why _were_ you going through my underwear drawer?"

"WHAT!?"

"It's not what you think"

"You were going through Tsuki's underwear drawer?" she protectively hugged said boy who blushed.

"NO, well yes but"

"Pervert!"

Ruby's expression turned red "I am _not_ a pervert that was…ugh. Can I explain myself please?"

"Go on"

And she did, Ruby explained about her past, how her parents were killed by a drunk driver in a hit and run. How she was taken in by her master and grown to despise humans. She spoke of how her master recently took ill and died though her spirit somehow possessed her body to carry on her will. She told them what happened after Tsukune blasted her away and escaped, how she (and by extension her master) became interested in him.

Which brings them to why she was in Tsukune's room "I tracked you back to your home by following the strange energy trail you leave behind during your transformation."

Tsukune leaned forward "energy trail?"

"Yes, yours is unique, different from what any monster I've known or researched."

"Oh"

"I tracked you to your house, actually your room and was searching the place for information on what you might be. I got your underwear drawer just as you opened the door and well…here we are."

A misunderstanding, of course it was Ruby doesn't seem like _that_ type of girl _'maybe I should have worded that question better'_

"Is there anything else?" the young witch asked.

"So the crazy ghost witch is trapped inside this thing then?"

Two sets of eyes snapped to the raven haired girl who held up the bottle in her hands _'how did she get that!?'_

The bottle flew out of Kyouko's hand and rested in Ruby's outstretched one "please don't touch it. Master may still be able to influence those who do"

"And what makes _you_ so different?"

Tsukune gave his cousin an unbelieving look even as Ruby flatly answered "I'm a witch."

"Oh"

And just like that it got awkward.

Tsukune coughed "we should head back now"

' _Before you do anything else to embarrass us'_

He loved his cousin he really did and most of the time she means well but sometimes she could be so…

"Wait what time is it?" she suddenly asked and his eyes widened.

He completely forgot about that.

"It's 11:17pm" Ruby supplied eyeing the clock.

Both teens shared a look, it just dawned on them that they had literally run away from home for hours on end without so much as a call to their respective parents. Both of them looked like they were in a warzone (which they were) and Tsukune hasn't gotten around to eating or showering.

Kyouko managed to sum up their situation in two words "we're dead" Kyouko said pacing "we are so dead! How are we supposed to explain this to our parents?"

They can't, not unless "we can tell them the truth"

Kyouko shared a look with him "no, just no" she shook her head and waved him off.

Tsukune winced, yeah ghosts and monsters were bad enough but if they found out he got kidnapped by a witch and had a big showdown against man eating planting and a psychotic ghost witch…it would be a little too much for her introduction into the supernatural. And that's just for his mom, he wasn't an idiot Tsukune knew full well how his father felt about his half brother's ghost obsession, he didn't want him to have a falling out with the Fentons.

Then there's the fact that it would oust Danny and who knows what _his_ parents will do if they find out about him. No it was way too early and inconvenient for him to spring this on them.

"Excuse me" Ruby interrupted "if you want I know a few memory spells that may be able to alter perception. I can make it so that your family thinks you have been home this entire time."

Tsukune's brows furrowed, he wasn't too keen on the idea of messing with his parents' head.

"It is perfectly safe I assure you"

"You're sure?" Kyouko questioned.

"Absolutely"

She still looked hesitant but acquiesced nonetheless "alright"

\

Luckily the actual spell to influence memories wasn't something difficult, no chanting, or drawing pentagrams or complex preparations. She simply pointed her staff and shoot a spell that upon contact had his parents freeze while she relayed what she wanted them to remember. Then they shambled up the stairs to bed, she had first done it for Kyouko and lastly with Tsukune.

Now they were standing alone in the living room "thank you" he said after hearing his parents' door close.

Ruby shook her head "you don't need to thank me, it's the least I could do since its' my fault you missed dinner."

Tsukune found that he couldn't really argue with that but as she began to leave he couldn't help but say "I'll see you later Ruby-san"

The girl froze and looked over her shoulder but said nothing as she transformed into a crow and flew off. Tsukune sighed at her lack of response and closed the door.

"What a mess" he said tiredly.

He was too tired to even think of food so he shambled towards the bathroom for a late shower then dropped himself onto the bed. Idly he wondered what happened to the Ice-Wolf, like Sensei the guy seemed to have disappeared after the fighting finished.

' _Oh well'_ he must have his reasons and Tsukune is too tired to think about it.

Still he would have at least like to thank him.

\

He flopped down onto his bed with a grunt, tonight had been the most hectic night of his life since…family reunions at his mother's village. He cringed just thinking about it, about _them_. At the same time he didn't particularly mind, sometimes its good to 'sharpen his claws' as his father would put it 'lest they become dull.'

He could appreciate that but what he didn't appreciate was missing his curfew and facing the ice cold wrath of his mother. At least his father managed to do damage control (as he always did) by vouching for him. It's not like he could have just let her kill those people

' _Come to think of it I don't even know there names'_

His mind flashed to the unconscious face of the girl. Crap now he really wished he'd introduce himself, so he could at least put a name to the face. He sighed, he really shouldn't be dwelling on it, it's not like he would meet her again. Still it's not every day you get to team up with a living ghost to fight a ghost witch and her horde of plant monsters.

' _Still wished I got a name though'_ in the end he shrugged off the thought and closed his eyes drifting to sleep.

Even if they wouldn't meet again soon, they'll end up having to go to Youkai High anyway, so there's that.

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: ugh, this chapter was insufferable to finish. Soak it in people this is what forced work looks like but in good taste. I may not have enjoyed writing it as much as I would like but I made sure that it's at least up to par in terms of quality. Just so we're clear I'm talking about after the fighting is done.**

 **And now for another rant…**

 **Another thing the author glossed over in favor of adding another girl to Tsukune's harem is the fate of Witch's Knoll. I mean technically Ruby has been fighting for it for most of her life. I just don't believe she would just abandon it to go gallivanting at Youkai High. So I'm sure she put up some contingencies before she left**

 **Okay so I'm gonna put this out there, I don't like OC's, especially the unrealistic 'perfect' ones who are made as part of an author's wish fulfillment. Self inserting in particular is the worst of the worst and I don't read** _ **those**_ **stories on principle.**

 **With that said Irishkatana gave me the specs for an OC and I felt like doing a fan a solid and see what happens. Plus in all honesty I think there is a severe shortage of reliable males (and males in general) in this series and I'm talking about Tsukune too don't think I'm bias.**


End file.
